
(las.. Fi4-xg 

Book I L 5 T 



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CENTIUL AMERICA; ^ 



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-AND- 



CHONTALES 



BY- 



COL. IB. J^. HjE^EIE^, 

FOREIGN EDITOR, TIMES-DEMOCRAT,' 

Author of " Yzabelita, or a Trip to the Land of the Maya. 

(COPYRIGHT SECUHEU.) 



NEW ORLEANS: 
E. A. BRANDAO & CO., PUBLISHERS, 34 MxiGAZINE STREET. 

1885, 



CENTRAL AMERICA; 



o:k... 




Li 



-AND- 



CHONTALES 



-BY- 



OOXj. E.' .A-. I-iE^EIE^, 

FOREIGN EDITOR, TIMES-DEMOCRAT, 

Author of " Yzabelita, or a Trip to the Land of the Maya. ' 

(COPTKIGHT BECUBBD.) 



NEW OELEANS: 
E. A. BKANDAO & CO., PUBLISHERS, 34 MAGAZINE STREET. 

1885. 






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TO THE SURVIVING FOLLOWERS OF THE 
IMMORTAL MOEOZAN, 

AND THEIR POLITICAL DISCIPLES, 

the sincere Uuiouists of Central America, this volume is 
cordially inscribed by 

THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



A generation has passed away since Stephens informed the 
scientific world that, in the hidden depths of the primeval for- 
ests of Central America, he had discovered the ruins of numer- 
ous aboriginal cities, whose crumbling temple walls and fallen 
towers imparted the sad story of their decline and fall. More 
than thirty years ago Squiers published an interesting work 
which advocated the building by Americans of an inter-oceanic 
railroad across the Eepublic of Honduras, from Puerto Cortez 
to Amapala. About the same time an American mineralogist, 
named Wells, gave to the public a detailed account of the 
mineral resources of the famous Honduranean departments of 
Olancho and Yoro. 

Since the above mentioned writers published their works on 
Central America no other American author has occupied his 
pen with this important subject. "Meanwhile a momentous 
revolution in Gruatemala placed the reins of power in the hands 
of the Liberals, and that republic has entered upon an era of 
regeneration, of political freedom, and of material progress. 

The Liberals of Guatemala were no sooner triumphant than 
they lent a helping hand to their struggling brethern of Hon- 
duras and San Salvador. Thus those governments also enjoy 
an enlightened and liberal form of government. The people 
of Nicaragua and of Costa Rica have unassisted worked out 
their political and material reform. In the former, the en- 
lightened statesmen. Quadra, Zavala and Cardenas, led the 
progressive movement, while Costa Rica's regeneration was 
accomplished by two patriotic citizens, Guadia and Fernandez. 

At present the five Central American re{)ublics are pros- 
perous and happy. The era of revolutions, of anarchy and of 
bloodshed has passed away, and an indusfcrious, intelligent 
and contented people have earnestly bent their energies to 
the prosecution of the different branches of industry. Public 



PREFACE. 

schools are found in every village, mining and agriculture 
have been revived, while the iron horse has become a familiar 
sight to the descendants of those aborigines who so bravely 
but vainly defended their native land against the mail-clad 
Spanish conquistadores. 

The foreign traffic of this naturally rich country has for 
many years attracted the serious attention of the principal 
commercial nations of Europe. France, England and Germa- 
ny have earnestly competed for its acquisition. Within the 
past decade IsTew York city has striven to possess it, and in 
conjunction with the commercial metropolis of the Pacific 
coast, has succeeded in wresting no small portion of this trade 
from the transatlantic competitors. 

IN'or have the merchants of the Crescent City looked on su- 
pinely while their northern and European rivals were strug- 
gling for this i^romising traffic. The Macheca Bros., Oteri, 0. 
A. Fish & Co., and Miller & Henderson, have captured the 
greater portion of the tropic fruit trade, while Schmidt & 
Zeigler, Smith Bro. & Co., H. Dudley Coleman, Eice, Born & 
Co., Woodward, Wight & Co., John Adams, and others, have 
acquired a fair share of the provision, coffee, hardware and 
lumber traffic. 

But if the merchants of New Orleans have accomplished a 
great deal in this direction, they should not rest until the 
greater portion of Central American traffic is in their hands. 
This city is advantageously situated for the requirements of 
this trade; thus, if it does not eventually flow hither, the 
blame can only rest upon our Crescent City merchants. 

The intention of the writer of this work is to furnish the 
people and merchants of this section with a brief description 
of the forest, agricultural and mineral resources of the land 
of the Quiches and the Chontales, together with a short his- 
torical account of these erstwhile Spanish colonial possessions 
from the epoch of the conquest down to the present day. 

The author has several times visited each of the Central 
American republics. Last year he crossed Guatemala, Hon- 
duras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, from ocean to ocean, and 
traveled through San Salvador. He writes, therefore, from 



PREFACE, 

personal experience and observation. He has likewise made 
the history and geography of Central America a special study. 
Conscious of its many imperfections, it is with serious mis- 
givings the writer submits this unpretentious work to the 
public. If, however, the information it imparts should in any 
way influence the movement of southern capital and southern 
enterprise into the localities it treats of, his object will be 
attained and his earnest hopes realized. 

InTew ORLEANS; March 8, 1885. 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Works relating to the Colonj-. Mr. Wilson's Admirable Almanac. Pro- 
gress of the country under the Barlee administration. Death of 
that Statesman. Discovery of the Spanish main by Columbus. 
Settlement of the colony by the pirate, Wallice. 

Within the past two decades several Eugiisli tourists have 
visited the iiDiqiie and to them almo.st hitherto uukuowu British 
Colony of Belize, Central America. Upon their return to the 
mother country, they published narratives of their tour. These 
works are both interesting and valuable, notwithstanding the 
writers occasionally permitted themselves to be swayed by the 
insular and clannish prejudices for which the English are so 
celebrated. Mr. A. li. Cibbs, in 1883, published in London, 
a fair sized volume, entitled "British Honduras, an historical 
and descriptive account of the Colony from its settlement, in 
1670." This work is quite popular in England, but is almost 
unknown in the United States. A Mr. Morris, not long since, 
devoted several months' time to visiting the different locali- 
ties of the province. His book " The Colony of British Hon- 
duras, its Resources and Prospects," is probably the best 
work of the kind that has, as yet, issued from the E]]giish 
press. The local government purchased a number of volumes 
which are retailed to tourists at a price less than cost. 

During the Barlee regime, tbe private secretary of that 
functionary, Mr. Wm. Grey Wilson, published a so-styled Al- 
manac, which contains more statistical and other information 
than all the rest of the works oh British Honduras published 
by English authors. But, being an Officeholder, Mr, Wilson's 
work was deemed, by the sturdy colonists, to favor the Crown's 
interests overmuch ; for that reason the Almanac has never 
been poi)ular in the country it treats of. 



2 BRITISH HONDUEAS. 



Notwithstauding' the amount of matter printed regarding 
this ont-of-the-way British possession, the statesmen and 
oiBfioials of England, until very lately, knew more of the in- 
terior of Africa than they did of their Central American pro- 
vince. One of them, in a public document, speaks of " British 
Honduras and other islands," while it would doubtless puzzle 
the great premier himself, to furnish, on the spur of the mo- 
ment, a fair estimate of the actual imi)ortance and value of 
the Colony. 

A southern journal, the Times-Democrat^ was the first Amer- 
ican periodical which published to the world a plain and un- 
varnished statement of facts regarding this colonial possession 
of the British crown. Major E. A. Burke, the enterprising 
and indefatigable owner and editor of that paper, three years 
ago perceived the importance of attracting the traf&c of the 
Colony toll^ew Orleans. This undertaking could only be carried 
out by making the merchants of both places better acquainted 
with each other and with their mutual traffic possibilities and 
facilities. New York and Europe had hitherto enjoyed a mon- 
opoly of the Colony's trade. He determined to wrest a por- 
tion of it at least, from the commercial rivals of New Orleans. 
The means he employed to accomplish this desideratum, was 
to educate the merchants of this section regarding the value 
and importance of the growing traffic of the Colony. To that 
end a member of the editorial staff of the Times-Democrat was 
sent to British Honduras, with instructions to examine thor- 
oughly into its trade resources and possibilities. 

The results of this mission, which were made known to the 
world through a series of letters published in the above men- 
tioned journal, proved highly satisfactory. The merchants, 
and residents of the Colony were gratified by the attention 
bestowed upon their province, by the great newspaper of the 
Southwest, while the business men of New Orleans had their 
attention drawn to this hitherto neglected locality, by these 
authentic accounts of its traffic resources. The letters were 
extensively reproduced by English periodicals. The result of 
this latter action proved very favorable, and gave an impetus 
to the material progress of the Colony. Capital began to 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



seek investment in that hitherto ignored locality. Emigration 
flowed thither, and in three years, British Honduras has, if 
we may believe the assertions of local statisticians, nearly 
doubled its foreign trade, while the fruit planting industry 
has augmented in value and importance more than twenty fold. 

Notwithstanding that newspaper enterprise, in this case, 
proved so influential and beneficial to the material advance- 
ment of the Colony, there was another factor which exerted 
a j)aramount influence toward bringing about its regeneration. 
A wise and honest man, the Hon. F. P. Barlee, was appointed 
by the British government to rule the province. During an 
entire decade, the commerce of Belize had dwindled to alinost 
absolute insignificance. A few logs of mahogany, a limited 
quantity of log wood, and some bundles of skins and hides, con- 
stituted its entire export traffic. Its import trade consisted of 
small annual cargoes of general merchandise from New York, 
and the mother country, and limited shipments of western 
produce from New Orleans, in schooners, which also carried 
on a fair fruit traffic with the Spanish American settlements 
to the south. 

An American writer has observed, that : " if a colony of 
Anglo Saxons should suddenly, while clogged with all their 
human attributes, be transported to heaven, they would soon 
find fauh with, and protest against the celestial system of 
government." It is needless to say that many of the sturdy 
British colonists of Belize soon became dissatisfied with Gov. 
Barlee's administration. He was denounced as a despot. His 
acts were stigmatized as arbitrary, and it was not long 
before the well-intentioned functionary became extremely un- 
popular. 

But Governor Barlee was neither arbitrary nor despotic. 
He had the welfare of the Colony near at heart, and deter- 
mined to bring about its regeneration, despite the murmurs 
of the discontented and reckless opposition faction which con- 
stantly strove to thwart his measures. The Home Govern- 
ment, which entertained the highest opinion of his ability and 
patriotism, resolutely sustained him, and in the end, he suc- 
ceeded in carrying out his numerous measures of reform. 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



After a thorough exaiiiiiiatiou of the situation he concluded 
that the future welfare of the Colonj^ depended upon its close 
commercial connection witli this country. To bring about this 
disideratum, he established a line of steamers between Belize 
and !New Orleans, and granted the enterprise a heavy mail 
subsidy. This measure, which at the time was very unpop- 
ular, proved the salvation cf the Colony. Through it, the 
fruit plantiug industry was promoted and fostered; commer- 
cial intercourse between the province and New Orleans was 
established, traffic revived and the little colony entered upon 
a new era of commercial and material progress. 

The passage of time and the course of events have vindi- 
cated the policy pursued during Governor Barlee's adminis- 
tration, ]Srot long since this good and wise man died at the 
island of Trinidad, to which government he had been i^ro- 
moted. The news of his demise proved a shock to Belize 
society. Even his old political enemies, while deploring this 
sad event, have been heard to acknowledge that he was en- 
titled to be styled the savior of the Colony. 

The English residents of British Honduras who number 
perhaps but 450, in a population of 30,000, are a fair type of 
the Anglo Saxon race. As merchants and traders, they are 
active, intelligent;, and energetic. Politically, the highest title 
they aspire to, is to be recognized as British subjects, and 
they demand the same status they would hold in their native 
country. The Crown colonial system of government which 
obtains in the province, and in which an American, at least, 
can see but little to recommend, is very unpopular with the 
people. In their colonial ignorance and simplicity, they can- 
not imagine why men, who leave their country, their homes, 
and their friends ; who spend the better part of their lives 
in assisting to build up England's commercial prosperity 
and supremancy abroad ; who, through the medium of their en- 
ergy, business spirit, and natural courage, after braving innu- 
merable dangers and risks, have wrested from the tiopic wilds 
of Central America a rich jewel for the British crown, should 
be disfranchised, as it were, by a system of government which 
reduces them almost to the level of a conquered people; a 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



system of government in which the crown officials have the 
preponderance, and which levies taxes without adequate rep- 
resentation of the people. 

U nder the administration of an executive of arbitrary dispo- 
sition, the crown government system degenerates inro pure 
absolutism. The people of British Honduras, as also their fel- 
low countrymen of Jamaica, deprecate the form of govern- 
ment under which they live, and will never rest contented 
uutil they recover all the rights and privileges to which they 
are entitled as free born, true blue British subjects. 

The present Governor of Belize, Mr. G-oldworthy, is de- 
servedly very popular with the people. He seems to possess 
many of the same characteristics as his illustrious predecessor, 
Mr. Bariee,'aud appears desirous of leaving behind him, when 
he retires from the scene of his present labors, the same uni- 
versal opinion that the material progress of the province was 
the unwearied object of his administrative aim. 

The territory of British Honduras, so its residents claim, 
was discovered by the immortal Oristoval Colon (Columbus) on 
his third voyage to the west. 

Tradition hath it that he landed on the little island that 
faces the present city of Belize in the year 1502. 

The Colony is at present kuowu as British Honduras ; the 
name of Belize being confined to the pretty tropic city, which 
is the captial of the British possessions on the main land. To- 
gether with the numerous cays that nestle lovingly close to 
the coast, British Honduras comprises about 6400 square miles, 
or 4,096,000 acres of laud, English measurement. 

According to tradition, the Colony received its name from a 
celebrated Scotch buccaneer named " Wallice." As there is 
no " W" in the Spanish alphabet, the name of the famous pi- 
rate chief was pronounced "Baliz" by his Spanish enemies. 
In the course of time it was corrupted into " Belize." Thus 
a buccaneer chieftain gave his name to one of the fairest 
and most valuable colonial possessions of the British crown. 

As near as can be ascertained, the pirate Wallice, in the 
beginning of the seventeenth century, established his head- 
quarters on the site now occupied by the city of Belize. From 



6 BRITISH HONDURAS 



here he sallied on his buccaneering expeditions to the Spanish 
main ; nor was it long before he became a terror to the whole 
coast, from the port of Vera Cruz, in Mexico, southward along 
the Mexican gulf, and the Caribbean sea, to the isthmus of 
Darien. 

From the year 1630, nothing more is heard of him. Whether 
he died a natural death and was buried on the Spanish main 
or at his little settlement in Belize, or was killed on one of his 
piratical incursions into Spanish America, is unknown, but 
about the date given above his headquarters at Belize were 
abandoned and the territory was claimed by the Spanish crown. 

The first purely English settlement founded at Belize was 
composed of a few seamen who were wrecked on the coast 
in the year 1638. By the year 1670 the Colony was in a 
prosperous condition, much more so, in fact, than any other 
of the British possessions in America. Its enterprising citi- 
zens exported log wood and mahogany to the mother country. 

But Spain never relinquished her assumed rights to the ter- 
ritory for more than two centuries, although from the year 
1798, the British government '' exercised both territorial and 
imperial rights openly and unrestrictedly." 

On the ninth of September, 1798, a Spanish fleet, composed 
of fifteen sail, was utterly defeated by a small British force, 
assisted by the gallant colonists at St. George's Cay. JFrom 
the date of that event the British have held undisputed sway 
over this possession on the main, as well as over about 100 
square miles of cays that lie along the coast. 

In the year 1861, by consequence of a memorial signed by 
the greater part of the inhabitants of the city of Belize, the 
Territory of British Honduras was raised to the dignity of a 
crown colony, the Spanish claims to the country were quietly 
ignored by consequence of the defeat of their fleet at St. George's 
Cay and in 1798, it was declared an English conquest, and a 
governor was appointed to rule the settlement, in the name of 
the British sovereign, by the home government. 

The absorption of this strip of Central American territory, 
that was so hotly contested by Spain, and whose own right to 
which was so often tacitly relinquished by the British govern- 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



merit, was simply a preliminary step looking toward the con- 
quest of the entire Caribbean coast, from the mouth of the 
Hondo river, southwest, to the confines of Costa Eica. In the 
chapters of this work devoted to Mcaragua the writer will 
enter more at length into the discussion of this subject, will 
endeavor to point out the steps taken by the British govern- 
ment toward the acquirement of this vast territorj^, and will 
explain how, when the success of the movement seemed cer- 
tain, it suddenly and unexpectedly failed of accomplishment. 

The people of the go-ahead and prosperous little Latin 
American republic of Guatemala as yet regard British Hon- 
duras with wistful eyes, and would, doubtless, if the oppor- 
tunity presented itself, endeavor to annex the coveted territory 
to their own country. 

Hitherto British Honduras had been a dependency of the 
Colony of Jamaica, and its executive ranked only as Lieuten- 
ant Governor. Two months since, the happy colonists received 
the pleasant news that their adopted country had been created 
an independent government by Her Gracious Majesty, Queen 
Victoria, and its executive elevated to the rank of full Gov- 
ernor and Commander-in-chief of the Colony. The joy of the 
gratified colonists was intense, and, notwithstanding the fact 
that their Governor already received more salary than the 
chief Magistrate of the great State of Kew York; they at 
once voted him a large increase of annual pay lo enable him 
to sustain, with dignitv, the honors of his new rank. 



CHAPTER IL 

Description of British Hondurae. Its present population. The import 
aud export traffic. Approach to the City of Belize, from the north : 
view from the harbor. The cleanest aud neatest city on the Conti- 
nent. 

The writer has gleaned the following interesting facts, cod- 
cerning the Colony from the Almanac pnblished by Mr. Grrey 
Wilson : 

"For the most part British Honduras is flat, with vast 
swamp and lagoons, having a depth of about three feet. It is 
to be remarked that nearly all these latter run parallel with the 
coast, indicating a probable old sea coast of which the present 
one formed the outer reef. 

" The principal ones are : New River (twenty miles long), 
Crab Catchers, Revenge, ISTorthern, Southern and Mexico. 
Apart from mahogany and log wood. the forests of the Colony 
display a great wealth of tropical vegetation, including the 
cedar, rosewood, bullet tree, fustic, lignum vitai, sapodilla, 
Santa Maria, iron wood, red and white pine and India rubber 
trees, and the sarsaparilla, cochineal cactus, agave, pita, silk 
grass, istle, Yucatan hemp, indigo, and numerous other useful 
plants and shrubs, many of which possess medicinal pro- 
perties. The cocoanut abounds, as does the cahoon palm 
and the groundnut, locally known by the name of pindas 
(carachis hypogaea), so exteusivelj- grown in and exported from 
Western Africa, which produces an oil equal to olive oil for 
domestic purposes, and is also excellent for fodder for horses 
and cattle. 

" The only mountains are the ' Coxcomb' range, with an ex- 
treme elevation above the level of the sea of 4000 feet ; behind 
which there lay an unknown country until last year, when 
this portion of the Colony was, more or less, explored by Mr. 
Fowler; — the colonial secretary — two Europeans and ten In- 
dians, Starting from Garbutt's Falls, on the Old River, a 
southeast course was struck to the seacoast at Deep river. 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 9 

The country crossed was a series of hills and valleys at an 
elevation of from 1200 to 3000 feet. The westerly portion was 
slightly undulating prairie, affording a magnilicent pasture. 
No inhabitants were met, but several stone ruins, evidently 
of great antiquity, were discov^ered. The soil was as a rule 
rich, but interspersed with barren and rugged spots. 

" A serviceable and direct road is now opened between Be- 
lize and the Grautemala frontier, leading to Paten. 

"Traveling is almost all done by water in light-draft boats, 
ordorys,' the rivers are tortuous in their course, and in the 
dry season are almost unserviceable. The Hondo, the north- 
ern boundary dividing Honduras from Yucatan, is navigable 
for about sixty miles ; the ISTew river, sixty miles ; the Belize 
or Old river, which rises in Guatemala, for about 120 miles; 
the Sibuu, the former southern limit of the Colony, thirty 
miles; the Manitee, sixteen miles; Mullino and Sittee, six- 
teen miles; North Sturm creek, eighteen miles; the Monkey, 
Deep, Hope creek and Golden Stream, Maho, and the Tomagh, 
are all navigable for a few miles. The Sarstoon, forming the 
southern boundary, is a wide and deep stream, navigable by 
tolerable-sized vessels for ten miles from its mouth. 

" The country along the banks of all these rivers is fertile, 
and affords good pasture land. 

"A sea breeze is prevalent during eight or nine months of 
the year, rendering the climate, which is damp and enervating, 
fairly healthy. Ej)idemics are of rare occurrence." 

The population of British Honduras, in 1871, in round num- 
bers, was 25,000, but on account of the extreme difficulty of 
taking the census this number cannot be relied on. The pop- 
ulation in 1880, according to the figures given by the late 
Oapt. George Marriner, chief of police, is about 28,000. 

In 1870, the statement of the public receijjts and expendi- 
tures was : 

Eevenue, $133,617 ; Expenditures, $131,013 ; Public debt, 
$147,950 ; Imports, $921,685 ; Exports, S859,885 

The same for 1880 was : 

Eevenue, $216,173; Expenditures, $189,613; Public debt, 
January 1, 1880, .S8,204 ; Imports, $945,380 ; Exports, $873,785. 



10 BRITISH HONDURAS. 

From the year 3 871 to 1876, inclusive, the imports and ex- 
ports ag-gregated about $1,900,000, but in 1877 thej^ fell off^— 
why, it is impossible to ascertain — to about $1,450,000. 

There is no export duty on the produce of the province, 
while the import duty is, with very few exceptions, but ten 
per cent ad valorem. 

Her Majesty's Colony of British Honduras is protected by a 
volunteer force composed of some twenty officers and about 
350 non-commissioned officers and privates. 

The commerce of the settlement has within the last six years 
gradually increased. In 1880 the number o± its registered 
vessels — which averaged twenty-five tons each — was sixty- 
five ; the number of unregistered vessels was. fifteen, making' 
a total of eighty vessels then belonging to the Colony. 

Taxation, in all different phases and tints, will amount to 
about $5 per head upon a population of 30,000. 

The land tax on the annual valuation of property in the 
towns is three per cent. If unoccupied or unused, one-and-a 
half per cent. Mahogany and log wood works, at the rate of 
$24 per mile base. 

A plantation under ten acres, $100 ; lands on cays, per 
square mile, $100; house on caj'-s whether used or not, three 
per cent, all other lands, per square mile, $200 ; spirits man- 
ufactured in the Colony, per proof gallon 75c ; a still license, 
$500. 

Other taxation, wheels of carts, carriage in Belize, each, 
$200 ; horses and mules used in Belize, Corozal or Orange 
Walk, S500; dogs in Belize, Corozal or Orange Walk, $200. 

Although there are many other taxable articles, etc., from 
which the colonial government derives its support, the above 
mentioned are the principal sources from which the revenue 
is obtained." 

As the steamer from N"ew Orleans approaches Belize from 
the north, it passes between a large cay named Nanger island, 
and the main land. Thisisletis thirty-six nautical miles distant 
from the town of Belize. From this point to the port, on the 
left hand, as the vessel steams onward it passes a succession 
of cays and islets, covered with cocoanut and mango groves. 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 11 

They are under the domiuiou of the British crowu and 
belong- to the colony of Belize. They are private property, 
most of them being possessed by the Belize Estate and Pro- 
duce Company, whose agents gather from the thousands of 
trees many myriads of eocoanuts annually, which are generally 
shipped to the United States per the Macheca steamers and 
American schooners. On one or two of these little islets 
small vegetable gardens h'ave been established. 

If the steamer approaches in the night, the lights of the 
little seaport gradually begins to dawn on the western horizon. 
They grow brighter and brighter, until the city appears in 
sight, and soon afterwards the anchor drops off the cay 
fronting the city, where m years gone by a small fort, armed 
with several cannons and manned by the sturdy English col- 
onists, protected the settlement from sack and destruction at 
the hands of the buccaneers who then infested the coasts and 
made their headquarters in the numerous islands that are 
bosomed on the blue Caribbean sea., 

The harbor of Belize is very spacious, and is remarkably 
well protected. It is almost entirely land-locked by the nu- 
merous islets which in reality form it. Large ships entering 
steer a generally northwest course to the middle buoy, but are 
compelled to anchor at least a mile and a half or even two 
miles off the city front. From this buoy the water gradually 
shoals. To the left of Fort Island, the mud brought down by the 
Belize river forms a bar which seldom carries more than three 
and a half to four feet of water. Inside this bar the soundings 
average ten feet up to the landing place fronting the custom- 
house. 

The charming little city of Belize, the capital of British Hon - 
duras, presents a very picturesque view from the anchorage, 
directly opposite the deserted islet which fronts the mouth of 
the river. 

Far off to the right, situated on a low point, are several long- 
buildings, which are the barracks of the volunteer forces. In 
their immediate front is a wide level parade, while to the left 
various neat and comely looking houses comprise the quarters 
of the officers. Cocoanut trees, laden with their precious bur- 



12 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



den of both meat and drink, rear their tall heads high above 
the houses, while along the barracks to the Point a row of 
young mango trees, many of them bearing fruit, thrive luxu- 
riantly, in this climate so congeuial to their production, a cli- 
mate of perennial spring and of perpetual vegetation. 

From the entrance of the military reservation the sea runs 
a few hundred feet into the land, which soon again stretches 
outward and forms a little cape called Cox's point. At its ex- 
tremity is an old schooner, which lies high and dry, having 
been stranded for some time back. From Oox's point the land 
along the city front curves inward, its greatest concavity 
being at that point where the signal station is situated. Then 
the curve gradually lessens until, at the governor's residence, 
it flushes with Cox's point. 

The whole city front, from the extreme end of the military 
reservation to a little beyond the governor's residence is about 
one and a half miles. 

A few hundred yards from Cox's point is situated a beau- 
tiful residence, deeply embowered in fruit trees and shadowed 
over by tall cocoanut trees, the nearest of which lean grace 
fully over the roof of the house. This edifice is owned by a Mr. J. 
H. Phillips, a rich merchant of the place This gentleman is one 
of the colonial commissioners to the ]S"ew Orleans Exposi- 
tion. 

A small space further to the left is the mouth of the Belize 
river. This latter discharges its waters inio the harbor imme- 
diately o]>posite the inner edge of Fort island, and is naviga- 
ble for small boats ior 120 miles. It is the longest river in 
British Honduras, and has its source in the interior of Gaute- 
mala. It possesses a second mouth about four miles to the 
north of the one above-mentioned. 

The cay which lies a few hundred feet from the mouth of the 
river has long been deserted. 

Between this islet and the shore the water is very shoal, 
while much of the space is filled by a luxuriant growth of man- 
groves. Many of them attain the height of at least ten feet. 
Beneath their branches, which spread downward into the 
water, shoals of diiferent kinds of fish seek the cool shade and 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 13 



Sport among their roots, whicli, in some cases, curve upwards 
and protrude above tbe water and then agaiu strike down- 
ward into the muddj^ bottom. 

Still further to the left a tall flag-staff, painted white, stands 
fronting the wharf. This is the sigual station, upon which 
are hoisted the flags that apprise the colonists of the approach 
of a vessel, of her class and of her nationality. 

In the vicinity of this station are situated the court-house, 
the police barracks, the council chamber and several other 
public offices. Immediately over the oiSce of the chief of police, 
stands the Belize light-house. A few yards more to the left 
is the Presbyterian church, while near it is the Wesleyau 
church, which is one of the largest in the city. The rectory, 
occupied by the pastor of the Church of England, is a pretty 
but modest and unassuming building. Again, further to the 
left is, the residence of the colonial secretary. This is one of 
the finest buildings in the Colony. It is surrounded by 
numerous cocoauut trees, some of which are very tall, while 
all bend under their load of fruit. At the end of the curve, or 
arc, as seen from the entrance, of the harbor, stands the house 
of his excellency the governor of the Colony. It is a very fine 
building, is airy and well ventilated, and also is shaded by a 
number of fine cocoanut trees. From this point the shore 
agaiu seems to recede and curve inward to th<^. left. A few 
hundred yards from the governor's residence stands a lone, 
solitary house, which may be considered as the last or most 
suburban building of the city. 

Belize,, the capital of British Honduras, is one of the clean- 
est cities, if not the very cleanest, on God's foot-stool. The 
writer certaiulj' has never seen iu any other Latin American 
country a town so clean and spruce, and one that presents 
such a neac appearance. Its streets are level and are kept in 
admirable order, the centre of them, for about twelve or fifteen 
feet, being macadamized with calcareous rock, which is broken 
fine by the long term convicts, Who are not permitted to leave 
the prison yard. These streets are cleaned and kept in repair 
by the convicts of the common jail, several gangs of whom 
may be seen, at any time during the day, working in the 



14 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



different quarters of the city. They are well fed and not over- 
worked, while they are never ill-treated or abused. One 
policeman is enough to watch a gang of six or eight of these 
unfortunates. 

The convicts of Belize are almost all negroes — miscalled 
Caribs. There are some few half-castes or descendants of 
Spaniards and Indians among them, though a very few. 

The author never saw a white convict on tne streets, nor 
when he visited the jail. This certainly argues well for the 
morality of the white colonists, particularly when the circum- 
stance of Belize being a seaport toAvn is taken into consid- 
eration. 

The buildings of the capital are mostly constructed of wood, 
and are light and airy. Many of them are roofed with thin 
corrugated galvanized iron, and some with tiles. 

Almost every private residence in Belize has its yard at- 
tached, which is adorned by flower gardens, and cocoanut trees. 
The population of the city is about 7000, according to the last 
census, which was taken by the late energetic chief of police, 
Capt. George Mariner. A large portion of the inhabitants is 
composed of the descendants of Jamaica negroes, and blacks 
from other localities, who are miscalled Caribs, for they resem- 
ble the genuine Carib Indians about as much as an Anglo 
Saxon does a full-blooded Esquimaux. In fact, but few 
of the descendants of the brave but ferocious Caribs, who so 
gallantly defended their native country against the Spanish 
invaders, now remain. Some of the gentlemen of Belize do 
not hesitate to assert that the race is extinct. ' 

Quite a number of half-castes live in Belize, but they do not 
possess that proud and independent mien which so essentially 
distinguishes their Mexican "costeiio" bretheru. The num- 
ber of European inhabitants, or those of pure European 
descent, is very small when compared to the negroes and half- 
castes. . . 



CHAPTER III. 

The principal business houses of Belize. Seaports along the coast. The 
fruit planting industry ; principal fruit plantations. The proposed 
I'ailroad to the Guateraaltean frontier. American enterprise in the 
Colony. Greneral prosperity in the Province. 

For such a small city Belize will compare favorably with 
Brooklyn, even, iu number of her churches, for she boasts of 
no less than fifteen, two of which are Episcopalian, five are 
Eoman Catholic, six are Wesleyan, one is Baptist and one is 
a Scotch Kirk. The number of members and communicants 
belonging to each denomination is difBcult to ascertain, but 
when the absence of white convicts is taken into consideration, 
an impartial observer can scarcely help from assuming that 
about all of the white colonists must be church members. 

Nor do the pious city guardians of Belize care less for the 
educational wants than they do for the spiritual necessities of 
their people, for, if the former head-quarters of the piratical 
Wallice boasts fifteen churches, it none the less possesses 
numerous schools, which receive goverment aid to the tune of 
nearly $10,000 annually, including inspe(;tor's salary and 
prizes for the scholars. Each pupil costs the Colony S5 62^, 
therefore^ more than one-sixth of the entire population of 
Belize consists of children actually at school. This curious 
fact may account for the scarcity of jail-birds in Belize, as 
well as for the still more singular fact that, of the present con- 
victs now serving out their time iu jail, less than one-half <»f 
them are natives of the Colony, while but very few belong to 
the city. 

As the capital is the commercial centre of British Hon- 
duras, most of the principal business firms are established 
there. They are: 

Wm. Guild & Co., B. Cramer & Co., P. Leckie & Co., 
Belize Estate Co., P. Lefebrre, John Gentle & Co., Chas, 
Pahmeyer, Henry Gansy, A. B. Morlan, Brodie & Cuthbert, 
Beattie & McDonald, V. H. McDonald, C. T. Hunter, Dr. A. 



16 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



Hunter, F. H. Bowen, Henry Lind & Co., 0. Metzgeii, John 
Harley, tSteven Bros. & Co., Panting & Co., A. H. Brinston, 
A. A. Richurd, Phillips & Co., J. Lainfiestu, John McDonald 
A. Williamson, Chas. Peters. 

The Belize Estate and Produce Company is a huge corpor- 
ation which owns at least one-quarter of the entire Colony. 
It is managed by Mr. A. S. Kindred, and is said to swing a 
very large capital. 

Beside the above mentioned firms there is a syndicate known 
as the British Honduras Fruit Company'- It comprises 300 
shares of £10 each. These shares are isot to be bought, except- 
ing an a large premium. 

A savings bank has been lately established under the sys- 
tem invented by the x)resent postmaster general of the British 
Empire. It is said to have already accomplished very benefi- 
cial results. 

It is safe to assume that the greater part of the banking 
business of the city and the Colony is in the hands of the 
Belize Estate and Produce Company, and that the profits 
from it add greatly to the annual revenue of the association. 

There is a fine opening for an American bank with American 
capital in Belize, at least so the leading merchants of the place 
assert. 

Belize contains a jail, one poor house and one lunatic 
asylum. In each of these institutions are separate, appart- 
ments for females, which are under charge of experienced 
matrons. There are but comparatively fewpanpers in the poor 
house and fewer still who receive out-door relief. 

Ten foreign consuls reside in Belize, most of whom are mer- 
chants doing business in the Colony. The American Consul 
the Hon. A B, Morlan, unlike many of his colleagues of the 
Caribbean coast, is a merchant of standing and consideration. 
He is courteous and polite to tourists and maintains the dig- 
nity of his office. His house is open to all visitors of respec-" 
tability, and his beautiful and accomj)lished lady dispenses the 
hospitalities of the consulate in a most graceful and charming 
manner. 



BRITISH irOlMDUKAS. 17 

The entire length of the coast of British Honduras, from 
the Hondo river on the north to the Sarstoon river which is 
the southern boundary of the Colony, is 160 miles. The 
average width of the strip of land which forms the province 
is about forty miles, while the whole area is estimated at 
6400 square miles. 

The capital and seaport, Belize, is situated nearly an equal 
distance from either boundary line. Several flourishing little 
ports have been opened to domestic commerce and a number 
of settlements are established at different points along the 
coast. 

The town of Corozal is situated about ninety miles north of 
Belize. It contains 5000 inhabitants and enjoys considerable 
traffic. Numerous small coasting vessels, dorys, sloops and 
little schooners, ply up and down the coast and connect the 
town with Belize and the other settlements. Corozal is pro- 
bably the most picturesquely situated town in Honduras. It 
presents a cleanly and neat appearance, although most of its 
buildings are thatched with palm leaves. It is the centre of 
a flourishing and progressive agricultural district. Sugar is 
the principal staple crop. 

In this happily situated locality, the climate is equable, and 
considering the latitude, is singularly cool, pleasant and 
healthy. Epidemic fevers never occur, while diptheria, and 
in fact all bronchial and pulmonary diseases are unknown. 
Unlike the centres of population in the West Indies of the 
same latitude, British Honduras is never afflicted with the 
yellow fever; not even a sporadic case has occurred within the 
memory of the oldest inhabitant. 

In the Corozal district the sugar caue attains a size and 
yield truly marvelous. There exist plantations that have 
not been replanted for many years, yet the ratoon cane 
readily yields an average of 3000 pounds of crude sugar to 
the acre. Cane five or six years planted will often return as 
high as 6000 pounds to the acre. 

Lack of capital and a corresponding want of modern sugar 
making machinery prevents the planters of Corozal from 
deriving the full benefit from their energy and industry. Yet 

2 



18 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



they manage to make a good profit upon their investments, 
and the crude sugar and rum they manufacture finds a ready 
sale and fair price at Belize and the markets of this country 
and Europe. The names of the principal merchants are 
Jones & Young, Brodie & Cuthbert, and Mrs. Hinkes. 

Orange Walk, as its name indicates, was once at least, 
famous for its yield of a most delicious fruit. The settlement 
is situated forty miles inland on the bank of the New River, 
a tortuous narrow little stream, which is, however, navigable 
for dorys for many miles from its mouth. It is the military 
headquarters of the northern district, and in days past, when 
the Indians of Yucatan were troublesome, was an important 
station. The population is rather mixed, but few inhabitants 
save those of the military profession are white. Escalante & Co. 
is the principal business firm of the locality. 
^ .San Pedro, a little town containing some 1200 inhabitants, 
is situated on Ambergris cay. The town engages in quite a 
prosperous trafitic with the main land, which is carried on by 
small sailing vessels and dorys. 

South of Belize several prosperous settlements have, within 
the past few years, been established. One or two of them 
however are almost contemporary with Belize. The principal 
industry is fruit planting. 

Mullin's Eiver is a small settlement, situated at the mouth 
of the river of the same name. It contains a mixed popula- 
tion of about 500 inhabitants. At this place the fruit j)lan ting- 
industry has made great progress. The Belize Fruit Company 
possesses a valuable property with many acres of bananas 
under cultivation, whose annual yield mnj be estimated at 
50,000 bunches of the standard size. The Excelsior Fruit 
Company is also a prosperous corporation, but as its establish- 
ment is of more recent date than that of the former, it yields 
but about 12,000 bunches per annum. 

Stann Creek, at the mouth of the creek of the same name, 
is quite an important place. It contains some 2000 inhabi- 
tants, most of whom are Caribs. These singular people are 
remarkably industrious. The men are laborers and mahogany 
cutters, and the women are the planters of the locality. A, 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 19 



fuller description of this race will be given in another 
place. 

AH Pines, which is situated somewhat to the south of Settee 
Eiver, is a settlement that contains a mixed population of 500 
inhabitants. This locality, or rather Settee river, boasts sev- 
eral tiourising banana walks. The Eoss plantation yields 
annually 12,000 bunchesj the Smith plantation 15,000 bunches; 
The Cramer plantation 10,000. Punta Gorda, situated on 
the coast, contains a half-caste and Oarib population, number- 
ing 1700 inhabitants. It is quite an important place and 
carries on a flourishing traffic with Belize. 

About ten miles back of Punta Gorda, at a locality called 
Toledo, is a new settlement established by Americans. This 
Colony contains but about 700 inhabitants in all. The Amer- 
icans are principally engaged in sugar planting. Several of 
them own valuable plantations. The yield of sugar to the 
acre is even greater than at Corozal. The planters at present 
send the bulk of their harvest to New York. 

At Monkey Eiver, certain enterprising gentlemen have 
lately established banana plantations at favorable localities. 
The Waliz Company exports 17,000 bunches annually and 
the Coleman plantation 8,000 bunches . Other parties have 
also invested in this industry but liave not as yet begun to 
export fruit. 

If the late Governor Barlee, by his wise measures, established 
the commerce of British Honduras on a prosperous basis, the en- 
ergetic and go-ahead British colonists have taken equally wise 
steps to keep what they have acquired. The presen t import traffic 
of the Colony, which consists of general merchandise from this 
country will reach to nearly $1,500,000 annually. The export 
traffic consisting of mahogany and other precious woods, sar- 
saparilla, skins, hides, etc., and bananas, cocoanuts and other 
tropic fruits, amounts to almost $2,000,000, annually and is 
constantly augmenting. 

S. Oteri, one of the most prosperous business men of New 
Orleans, is the pioneer fruit dealer who first opened the fruit 
trade between the ports of the Caribbean coast and the Crescent 
City. He began with one schooner, and carried on a small 



20 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



traffic with Belize and the ports to the south. His vessel 
brought back cocoanuts, plantains, bananas and j)ine apples. 
From this small beginning Mr. Oteri has bniltup a very large 
and prosperous business. He has three steamers in the trade, 
several sailing vessels, and also receives and disposes of the 
fruit brought thither by other dealers. 

But of late years Mr. Oteri has practically abandoned the 
British Honduras fruit traffic and has directed his attention 
principally to the development of the fruit planting interests 
of the Bay Islands and the Spanish main, at and contiguous 
to Trusillo. 

The development and the present prosperous condition of 
the fruit planting industry of British Honduras is principally 
due to the influence exerted by the establishment of the 
Macheca line of steamers. In 1880, Capt. James Leitch, who 
had traded along the Caribbean coast for many years, in 
various schooners, obtained from Governor Barlee a valuable 
mail subsidy. He entered into an arrangement with the 
Macheca Bros., who put staunch little steamers on the route 
between the Crescent City and the ports of British Honduras, 
Gruatemala, and Honduras as far east as Tela. At that period 
the Macheca Bros, had several schooners running on the same 
route. 

When the colonists became satisfied that the Macheca line 
was apermanentinstitution, numerous of the most enterprising- 
devoted their attention to fruit planting. Many plantations 
were started and a fair amount of capital was invested in the 
industry. It would be safe to assume the j'ield of the various 
plantations, large and small, at 200,000 commerciable bunches 
aunuallj^ This crop at fifty cents, the average price per 
bunch, gives an annual amount of $100,000 derived from the 
yield of bananas and plantains alone. 

At different localities along the coast are situated flourishing 
cocoanut groves. ]!fumerous cays which lie on the bosom of 
the sea, near the coast, are also planted with this fruit. It is 
impossible to ascertain the annual yield of the groves, but the 
value of the nuts must be great, as an important and con- 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 21 



stantly increasing traffic in this product is carried on with 
England, and with our own country. 

The plan of this work will not permit the author to enter 
into a minute and detailed account of the various spontaneous 
and cultivated products ot British Honduras. Mr. Morris, in 
his admirable little book, has not only mentioned the princi- 
pal of them but has described the method employed in the cul- 
tivation of the most important. 

Foreigners who propose establishing frnit plantations in 
Central America, might study Mr. Morris's book to their 
advantage. 

Before the development of fruit planting, mahogany and log- 
wood cutting was the principal industry of the Colony. In 
fact the prosperity of the inhabitants was ganged by the 
price of precious woods in the European markets. 

For many decades, even after the price of dye woods declined 
in Europe, this industry continued in a flourishing condition. 
But in the course of time the trees, most accessible to the 
streams, were cut, and the expense attendant upon road 
making to the cuttings, and hauling the logs to the river, has 
reached the maximum point. Thus the old industry of British 
Honduras cannot be considered profitable unless the price of 
wood rules high in foreign markets. 

But Mr. Henry Fowler, the present colonial secretary, during 
his long and hazardous e\j>lor:ng expedition into the interior, 
discovered many localities where grand mahogany, cedar and 
dye forests are flourishing. When railroad enterprise develops 
these regions, wood cutting will again become a profitable 
industry, but not until then. 

An attempt is being made to bring about the construction 
of a railroad from the port of Belize, to the eastern frontier 
of Guatemala, by Mr. Walter Began, and several other gen- 
tlemen of this city. Mr. Regan has several times assured 
the author that his ultimate prospects of success are very 
promising. 

Altogether British Honduras is a prosperous and flourishing- 
Colony. Itsfewwhiteiuhabitantsarefully aware of the value of 
the territory they control, and are endowed with the business 



22 BRITISH HONDURAS. 



courage, energy and perseverance requisite to bring about the 
sj)eedy development rf the vast natural resources of their new 
country. But they must learn that the future prosperity of 
their Colony does not depend uj)ou their European connec- 
tions, but solely upon the interest manifested in them and 
their commerce by the capitalists of this couutry. They must 
cast forever aside their clannish and insular prejudices and 
sincerely welcome the enterprise of the American merchant, 
capitalist and emigrant. 



REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA- 



CHAPTER I. 

Geographical situation. Area and population. Eevenues. Import and 
Export traffic. Telegraph lines. Free schools and educational sys- 
tem employed, xidvance of the Eepublic under the wise administra- 
tion of Gen. Barrios. The principal departments. 

The Eepublic of Guatemala is situated immediately south 
of the Mexican State of Chiapas and south and west of the 
peninsula of Yucatan, It is the third in size of the Central 
American republics, Honduras and Nicaragua both containing 
a greater area of territory. It possesses but a small line of 
coast on the eastern side, which is washed by the deep blue 
waters of the placid Caribbean sea. On the western or Pacific 
side the coast line is much more extended and is blessed by 
two very fine harbors. One of these ports, San Jose de Gaute • 
mala, is spacious, fairly protected and carries deep water 
almost to the beach. 

The Eepublic contains an area of 44,800 square miles, or 
28,672,000 acres of land. The climate on either coast line, from 
the beach to the foot hills, an average distance of thirty-five 
miles, is warm and enervating, while during the rainy season 
malarial fever and chills and fever are somewhat prevalent. 

The "vomito" or yellow fever, is unknown on the Caribbean 
coast; while, if at rare intervals exceptional cases have appeared 
on the Pacific side, it has never become epidemic. By conse- 
quence the sanitary condition of the Caribbean coast of Guate- 
mala will compare with the interior of the United States, along 
the great river courses, from Cairo south to the Gulf coast. 

But in the interior of the Eepublic, along the tall ridges and 
the foot hills, and amid the beautiful and fertile valleys that 
break the continuity of the gigantic mountain ranges, the 
atmosphere is pure and bracing, and during the entire year 
inflates the lungs of the Guatemaltecan with a constant sup- 
ply of healthy and invigorating air. 



24 aUATEMALA. 



The popalation of Guatemala may be safely estimated at 1,500,- 
000 people, of whom, perhaps, at least 950,000 are full blooded 
Indians, and the other 550,000 are Creoles and foreign whites. 

The annual revenue of the Republic was in 1883 ,$4,800,000 
one-third of which was derived from duties on imports. The 
expenditures of the government were a little less than its rev- 
enue. The public debt, which in 1875 nearly reached $4,000,000 
is now reduced to about $3,000,000. The greater part of this 
debt was contracted during a war with the Republic of San 
Salvador, the Dictator, Gren. Barrios, having carried into effect 
his system of paying for the provisions consumed by his army 
instead of living on the enemy's country, a system never before 
heard of in Spanish -American warfare. 

In the year 1883, the imports of the Republic reached the 
sum of, in round numbers, $3,500,000 annually, while the 
exports amounted to at least $4,500,000. This year it is esti- 
mated that the imports will reach $4,000,000, and the exports 
about $5,000,000 ; for the foreign commerce of the Republic is 
constantly increasing, while the cutting of mahogany and dye- 
woods and the exportation of hides, skins, sarsaparilla and 
fruits during the last four years has wonderfully augmented. 

By consequence of the comparatively recent opening of the 
little port of Livingston to free foreign commerce, the cultiva- 
tion of colfee at Alta Paz, this side of the mountain range 
has received a most astonishing impetus. In 1879, the receipts 
of coffee at the town of Panzos could not have been more than 
1,500,000 pounds. The planters of that section estimate their 
crop for 1884, at 3,000,000 ]>ounds, notwithstanding the 
coffee trees of Alta Paz received injuries, estimated at 
§5,000,000, during the unprecedented cold weather four winters 
ago. For some days the thermometer ranged many degrees 
lower than it had been known to fall since the epoch of the 
conquest, or for over 300 years. Many of the planters, to save 
their youngest trees, cut them to within a few inches of the 
ground. This precaution has proven a most wise one, for the 
plants thus treated have sprung up afresh and are reported 
as healthy and vigorous, Avhile those neglected invariably 
withered and died. 



GUATEMALA. 25 



Gruatemala boasts of but two active railroads. One from 
Sau Jose to the capital. The Champerico road runs from the 
port of that name to Eetalhulen, a distance of twenty-ei^ht 
miles from the coast. Since opening both have paid running- 
expenses, as well as interest on the capital stock, while their 
freight and passenger traffic is constantly increasing. 

In March, 1881, the number of miles of telegraph wires that 
crossed the country was announced to aggregate to 2150 miles. 
Along these lines a message maj- be sent to their utmost limits 
for twenty-five cents per ten words. 

'These telegraph lines are all, excepting that which belongs to 
therailroad,ownedby the government, and are under its control. 

For many years since the era of its independence, Guate- 
mala languish! d under a retrograde system of government, 
but, in 1871, the Liberals arose en masse and overthrew the 
Conservatives. Since that period, under the rule of the Lib- 
eral chieftain, Barrios, the Eepublic has made great strides 
forward in the path of material progress 

Every month — nay, every week — witnesses the inauguration 
of some new reforms. 

Before the revolution two or three parochial schools pro- 
vided for the education of more than half a million of children. 
To-day over 1000 free schools are in full operation. Education 
is compulsory, and every adult male in the Republic is taxed 
to support the new school system. 

With political emancipation came commercial regeneration, 
and at present Guatemala is one of the hap^nest, and probably 
the most prosperous, of the many little republics that lie to 
the far South of us. Agriculture and commerce are both 
flourishing, and telegraph wires bring the most distant limits 
of the Eepublic in constant communication with the capital 
and with each other. 

Guatemala is washed by two oceans, and possesses a most 
fertile soil. It has three fine ports on the Pacific side, and on 
the Caribbean — Port Livingston, and Puerto Barrios. Coffee 
constitutes its most valuable staple, and it exports about 
3,500,000 pounds annually. The greater part of the crop goes 
to California and Europe. The Macheca steamers often bring 
coffee to this port for reshipment to New York or Europe. 



26 GUATEMALA. 



The only cause that can be assigned for this avoidance of 
our market is self-evident. The merchants of the Crescent 
City have made no effort to secure any of this traffic, while it 
might be said that they have been equally as indifferent 
in the introduction of their goods in Central American 
markets. 

Meanwhile, English, French and German commercial agents 
are actively canvassing Latin American countries, and, 
although the greater part of the goods they sell are inferior 
to American articles of a similar class, they make larger 
sales and almost glut these markets with their textile manu- 
factures. 

The acquisition of this city's small share of Central American 
trade can be attributed to the fruit merchants of this section, The 
Macheca Brothers and the Oteri Brothers have built up the 
traffic by their enterprise and through the risk of their capital. 
They began first with small vessels in fruit importing. Then 
they took orders for goods until their schooners had to 
be replaced by steamers, and the traffic swelled into its present 
magnitude. They have thus succeeded in wrestling no small 
Ijortion of Central American trade from the grasp of their 
Eastern rivals, while, as a natural consequence, they have 
begun the introduction of American textile goods into these 
consuming centres. 

The Republic is divided into twenty-two departments, each 
of which has its military commander and corresponding civil 
officials. Several of these political divisions merit special 
mention, that of Yzabal being most accessible to this country. 

The department of the Yzabal is bounded on the north by 
the gulf of Amatique and the r>ay of Honduras, and on the 
south by the Motagua River. It is one of the richest provinces 
in natural resources in the Republic of Gautemala, and con- 
tains a population of 54£0 souls, composed of Ladinos, Indians 
and Caribs, with an area of 4500 square mi^es. 

The climate is delightful, a perpetual spring. The ther- 
mometer ranges between 80 and 95 degrees for the year round. 
During the dry season, which lasts from the first of February 
to the middle of June, the trade winds set in about two o'clock 



GUATEMALA. 27 



in the evening and last until eight or nine at night. They 
are followed by a land wind, which makes the nights cool and 
pleasant. 

The sanitary condition of the department is good. The only 
sickness is chills and fever, which yields very readily to 
proper treatment. Yellow fever, Ohagres fever, cholera and 
epidemic diseases are uuknown. 

The forests abound in mahogany, cedar, rosewood, ebony, 
vera, amarrillo, logwood, fustic, oak, laurel and other valuable 
timber, as also in india-rubber trees, sarsaijarilla, wild cacao 
and the precious vanilla vine. 

The lands on the Motagua and Dulce rivers and on Lake 
Tzabal are rich alluvial deposits, well adapted to the cultiva- 
tion of sugar-cane, coffee, cacao, bananas, plantains, rice, corn, 
cocoanuts, oranges, limes, mangoes, guavas, pineapples and 
all classes of the tropical fruits. 

The remaining lands are very suitable for grazing purposes, 
and a large traffic in cattle is carried on with the markets of 
Belize and Guatemala City. 

The President of the Republic, Gen. J. Rufino Barrios, with 
the laudable intention of encouraging agriculture in the depart- 
ment, has, in company with Don Cayetano Rascon and Don 
Felipe Marquez, established a large cattle ranch, called the 
" Hacienda del Pilar," some fifteen miles east of Yzabal. The 
hacienda contains about 36,000 acres of land, and at present 
is stocked with 4000 head of cattle. The pasturage is abun- 
dant and of good quality. It may be safely said that the 
enterprise is a success, for the proprietors are constantly 
adding to the number of their cattle. 

The President, in company with Col. Henry Toriello, has 
established a large sugar plantation, on the north side of Lake 
Yzabal. The land is good, and the work of clearing and plant- 
ing is being pushed forward with energy, Ool. Toriello is also 
largely engaged in banana culture, near Livingston. At 
present he is cutting about 500 bunches per month. 

The extensive cocoauut plantation of Point Manibique has 
been leased by Capt. James Leitch and Michael ISTorrich. This 



28 GUATEMALA. 



grove contains about 10,000 bearing- trees, and will, no doubt, 
prove a good investment for.these enterprising gentlemen. 

There are quite a number of cocoanut, cacao, banana and 
pineapple plantations in the neighborhood of Livingston, all 
of which are being cultivated with profitable results. Cocoa- 
nuts sell readily for $18 per thousand ; bananas, fifty cents 
per bunch; plantains, seventy -five cents per hundred ; pine- 
apples, seveuty-five cents per dozen ; corn, seventy-five cents 
per fanega (400 ears) ; rice four cents per pound. 

The free port of Livingston is situated ou a bluft' sixty feet 
above the level of the sea, at the mouth of the Rio Dulce, and 
is fast becoming a place of importance. It is connected with 
New Orleans by the Macheca, Black and National lines of 
steamers, and with England and the Continental ports by the 
vessels of the London Line. The river steamers Muncy and 
Panzos, owned by Messrs. Anderson and Owen, make regular 
trips between Panzos, touching at Yzabal and San Felipe, and 
connecting with the Macheca Line every week. 

The imports from the United States are flour, pork, cotton 
goods, canned goods, kerosene and lumber. The exports are 
mahogany, coffee, india-rubber, sarsaparilla, hides, cocoanuts, 
bananas, i^lantains, pine-apples and other tropical fruits. 

G-en. Barrios, President of the Eepublic, is very much inter- 
ested in the progress and development of this department, and 
cordially invites emigration. He particularly desires Ameri- 
can emigrants to come and make their honK\s hero, and assist 
in developing the vast agricultural and mineral wealth of the 
country. 

A gentleman who has lived in this department for the past 
fourteen j^ears, told the author that he has never been molested 
in any way, and that life and property are as secure at Yzabal 
as in anj' other part of the world. 

The department of Sacatepequez, of which old Guatemala 
city is the capital, is one of the finest agricultural regions 
of the Republic. Its principal products are corn, indigo, sugar- 
cane, coffee, croton oil plant and precious woods, honey etc. 
Some mines were worked in the Magdalena district during the 



G^UATEMALA. 29 



Spanish regime. The department possesses an area of 250 
square miles and a population of 50,000. 

The department of Ohimaltenango, is also a grand agricul- 
tural region. It contains 800 square miles of territory and 
produces anatto, yams, beans, coffee, corn, sugar-cane, cotton, 
and in the higher altitudes excellent wheat. The mountain 
slopes, foot-hill sides and grand semi-tropic valleys of this 
department contain vast forests of furniture and building 
timber. When railroads are introduced into this region, these 
forests will become very valuable. Several beautiful streams 
and watercourses, containing perennial supplies of this preciou s 
fluid reticulate the department in all directions and render 
irrigation remarkably easy. 

The department of Suchitepequez is one of the most exten- 
sive political divisions of the Republic. It contains an area 
of 2510 square miles and 75,000 inhabitants. It is watered 
by numerous perennial rivers. Its principal agricultural pro- 
ducts are coffee, cacao, (chocolate) (;orn, yams and sugar- 
cane. The annual export of cacao alone from this district 
amounts to more than 1,000,000 pounds. The department 
boasts a large aboriginal population, which still retain many 
of their ancient customs and habits, particularly their mode of 
dressing. 

The department of Quetzal ten ango is also noted for its 
valuable agricultural products, among which may be men- 
tioned an annual yield of 6,000,000 pounds of Indian corn, 
2,000,000 pounds of coffee, 2,400,000 pounds of wheat and 
20,000 pounds of wool. It is one of the finest stock raising 
localities in the Republic, while the capital possesses a few 
profitable textile factories. Several fine streams of water flow 
through its wide savannas. 

The department of Retalhulen is not only celebrated for 
its agricultural activity but also for its vast forests of furni- 
ture and building timber. It boasts many valuable coffee 
and sugar estates whose products are exported from the port 
of Ohamperico. 

The department of San Marcos contains 750 square miles of 
territory and 75,000 population. Its agricultural products are 



30 aUATEMALA. 



sugar-cane, coffee, cacao, corn, wheat and other cereals. The 
following graphic description of the country contiguous to the 
volcanoes of Tacana and Tajumulco is takenfrom the interesting 
work of Don Antonio Batres, entitled "A Sketch of Guatemala." 

" The volcano ot Tacan4 forms a regular cone, while that of 
Tajumulco is capricious in its configuration. They are the 
chief features of the district, which is traversed by the same 
Cordillera that extends through Central America. Between 
slopes of the last named volcano, the Cabus river has its source 
and then runs a considerable distance through wide woodlands, 
fertile and arable fields, and sandy deserts. Two suspension 
bridges span this stream, while another very handsome one has 
been thrown across the Cotzutcbima river. The IsTaranjo, 
Tilapa and Pacaya rivers form the Ocos bar. Hydrographi- 
cally, San M4rcos is traversed by other water courses and 
brooks irrigate its fertile territory and carry vegetable life 
into that opulent zone, joining their waters finally with those 
of the Soconusco. The topographical aspect it unfolds is 
something superb ; as far as the eye can reach, snow-capped 
eminences ; precipices and ravines, the latter the offspring of 
cataclysms, of which history has no record ; fertile highlands 
diversified by broad acres of waving cereals, and clustering 
farm houses ; the virgin forest with its giants overrun by 
creepers and intertwining lianas ; the fragrant coffee blossoms 
perfuming the boundless uplands ; emerald horizons made up 
of cane and wheat fields which are surrounded by tall and 
erect mountain ranges, on whose declivities flocks of sheep 
find abundant nourishment, while the huts of herdsmen keep 
watch over them." 

The extensive department of Huehuetenango is corrugated 
by tall montain ranges which enclose numerous fertile valleys 
where the temperate climate prevents the production of tropical 
plants and fruits. It contains 141 villages and thirty-six con- 
siderable towns, many of whose inhabitants are engaged in 
the manufacture of course woolen goods. On the border of 
the river of the same name, are found the remains of the abori- 
ginal fort Tz*ac — ulen, where the justly famous Indian king, 
Oaibil Calan, for a long time heroically defended this last strip 



GrUATBMALA. 31 



of his ancient patrimony against the repeated assaults of the 
imi>etuous Governor Don Pedro de Alvarado. The suspicious 
death of tbe great chief taiu dispirited his followers, and in the 
final assault the Spaniards captured the fort. The locality is 
noted for its abundant yield of all the cereals and fruits of the 
temperate zone, and also for its deposits of gold, silver, iron, 
lead and salt. 

The department of Quiche is famous as the locality where 
the aboriginal kings of the country founded their great capital 
Utatlan. Its last mouarch mustered an army of 75,000 men to 
oppose the march of the famous Alvarado. Its products are 
Indian corn, wheat, sarsaparilla, hemp, vanilla, textile fibre 
made from the Agave, white copal, wild incense, India rubber, 
almonds, copalchi, anatto, aniseed, tea, coffee. 

The department of Chiquimula covers an areaof nearly 2200 
square miles, and contains 55,000 inhabitants, the majority of 
whom are engaged in agriculture. According to the report 
of Mr. Batres, its products are wheat, Indian corn, rice and 
other sorts of grain ; beans, tamarinds, divi-divi and vegetables ; 
coffee and India rubber 5 tobacco, sarsaparilla ; almonds, yuca, 
storax gum, sesamum orientale, cotton, liquid amber, sugar, 
indigo, lignum vitai, fustic, aripin, mahogany and cedar wood, 
silver, antimony, copper, lead, and iron ores. The celebrated 
Olotepeque mines are still being worked. The general aspect 
presented by the department is of the most varied kind, pic- 
turesque and overflowing with resources. 

'The city of Chiquimula is the capital. It contains 11,000 
inhabitants and is situated at an altitude of 990 yards above 
the level of the sea, with a warm yet salubrious climate. 

The above is a brief mention of the most productive and 
populous departments into which the republic is divided, 
Alta and Vera Paz will be more generally treated in another 
chapter devoted to Guatemalean industries. 



CHAPTER 11. 

The ancient people of Guatemala. The Popal Vuh. The founders of 
Palenque aud Copan. First aboriginal liings. Curious traditions. 
Human sacrifice. Advance sta;;e of civilization, etc., etc. 

Four decades ago Messrs. Squires, Stephens aud Wells, 
anuouuced to the wondering savant of the scieutilic world the 
discovery of ruins of numerous ancient cities in Chiapas and 
Central America. Some time previous Yucatecan antiquarians 
had published descriptions of the grand ruins of TJxmal, of 
Chicken-Itza, Kabak, ISTohpot, Labuoh. Ake, and other abori- 
ginal cities, but the servile insurrection which soon afterward 
occurred, put a termination to further archseological discov- 
eries in Yucatan. The victorious savages reconquered their 
ancient patrimony ; the Creoles were driven to the country 
contiguous to the coast, aud the localities where these vast 
ruins are situated were, for the time being, occupied by the 
revolted peons. 

But in G-uatemala no less interesting remains of the past 
eras of civilization were discovered at different points. Those 
of Quirigua, iu particular, excited great interest by conse- 
quence of their extent aud their contiguity to the coast. In 
the department of Copan, in Honduras, are the ruins of a city 
which, in its apogee of prosperity, must have contained at 
least 600,000 inhabitants. It is known to the scientific world 
as Copan, and was first visited and described by the celebrated 
Arnerican traveler, John L. Stephens. 

The ruins of Palenque, iu the Mexican State of Chiapas, 
were also visited by Stephens, who published a graphic and 
interesting account of the remains of that ancient capital. It 
takes its name from an insignificant little village situated near 
it, but we now know that it was called by the aborigines 
" Nachan." 

In 1870, the author of this work, in company with several 
Mexican archaeologists, explored the ruins of Uxmal, Kabak 
Chicken Itza, in Yucatan, and Palenque, in Chiapas. In 1871, 



GUATEMALA. 33 



accompanied by two young gentlemen of Philadelphia, he 
visited the extensive ruins of Papantla, in the State of Vera 
Cruz, Mexico. It is very probable that he and his two com- 
panions were the first persons of Anglo-Saxon descent who 
ever saw the ruined temples, palaces and vast edifices of this 
ancient capital. 

During the past year the columns of the Times Democrat 
have contained numerous articles descriptive of Central 
America, particularly of the republics of Honduras and G-uate- 
mala. These publications have attracted the attention not 
only of merchants and business men in general, but of scien- 
tists and archseologists as well. Again the question has been 
agitated, who were the founders of these large ruined cities, and 
what degree of civilization did they attain. 

As yet tbis problem has not been solved. The hieroglyphics 
that cover the temple walls, the monuments and obelisks of 
Central American ruins, have only been more than partially 
deciphered ; thus their historical records are almost a sealed 
book to the scientific world. 

All we know is that, at a remote period, races of highly 
enlightened people inhabited the southern portion of Mexico, 
and almost the entire area of Central America. 

In a recent tour through the republics of Honduras and 
Guatemala the author was presented by Gen. Luis Bogran, now 
president of Honduras, with a copy of the unfinished history 
of Central America, written by Don Jose Milla, a famous 
Guatemaltican scientist. This accomplished scholar died 
shortly after he had finished the second tome of his work. The 
first volume is prefaced by an t^ssay upon the aboriginal inhab- 
itants of Central America. This interesting historical sketch 
has never, we believe, been published in the English tongue. 
Believing that a knowledge of these legends, and the tradi- 
tions relating to the former inhabitants of Central America 
would be pleasing to the readers of this book, the writer has 
translated the principal and most interesting portions of Mr. 
Milla's sketch of the aborigines of his country. 

That vast territory which is situated between the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec and that of Panama, and the Atlantic and 



34 GUATEMALA. 

Pacific Oceans, and whicli for three centuries was subject to 
the Spanish crown, has, since the era of independence, received 
the political denomination of Central America, on account of 
its geographical position. 

The old mines found in different localities of Central America 
attest not only a most remote antiquity, but likewise an 
advanced stage of civilization. ISTeither the mysterious con- 
struction of Quirigua, of Palanque, of Copan, and of Tikal, nor 
the remains of the edifices and temples of Quiche and Tecpan, 
Guatemala ; nor the many other ruins of ancient cities that 
strew Central America reveal the least insight into the origin, 
the customs or the habits of the people who raised such mon- 
uments. The annals of those great nations are entirely lost, 
or cannot be deciphered. The inscriptions that cover the walls 
of the ruined temples, or the huge obelisks and columns that 
have been found in the tropic forests, have not as yet revealed 
to the eye of the observer their hidden meaning. The origin 
of the inhabitants of these countries is a problem which history 
has not been able to solve, notwithstanding the advance that 
has been made in the study of American arch geology, ethnology 
aad linguistics, (during late years. We may hope, however, 
that the interest that has been awakened in the scientific world 
by the monuments that cover our soil, will augment day by 
day, particularly as many scientists are now convinced that 
this country was the cradle of the former civilization of this 
continent, if not of the world. 

Few, unfortunately, are the remaining historical documents 
relating to ancient Central America. Some data have reached 
us, furnished by Indians whom the Spaniards taught to write 
in Latin characters. It is doubtful what degree of confidence 
should be placed in the truth of these narrations, in which 
events are frequently expressed by symbols or hieroglyphics, 
whose true sense is very often difficult to understand. 

One of these historical fountains is the Popal Vuh, or national 
book of the Quiches, of which there are two versions ; the 
Spanish of the historian Ximenez, and the French of the Abbot 
Brasseur de Bourbourg. Without differing very materially 
these two authors interpret differently the legendary and 



GUATEMALA. . 35 



mythological portion of this curious historical document. The 
translation of the Spaniard has in its favor the authority of an 
author who was a profound scholar and who for thirty years 
had studied the Indian languages. On the other hand, the 
French translation reveals the vast knbwledge possessed by 
its author of the languages and the antiquities of the indigenes. 
The narration of Quiche appears adorned with thoughts that 
it is very possible were never the real sentiments of the Indian 
editor of the Popal Vuh. 

In the interiDretation of various passages, Ximenez pays 
tribute to the ideas of his ej)och, a fault the Abbot Brasseur 
should have avoided, writing as he did, in a more enlightened 
century. Besides the Abbot, in a posterior work, established 
a new theory concerning the history of ancient America, that 
contradicted his former interpretation of the Popal Vuh, and 
other ancient texts. 

Another historical document, almost as interesting as the 
above mentioned, is a Cakchiquel manuscript, of which there 
is no other version than that possessed by the Abbot Brasseur. 
He frequently cites it as authority in his writings by the name 
of the Memorial of Tecpan Atitlan. 

He has also made frequent use of the ''Titulas Territoriales" 
of certain Indian peoples to procure information of events an- 
terior to the conquest and also of the military operations of 
the Spaniards. We have no knowledge of any other than the 
Casa de Ixcuin Nihaib, although Brasseur mentions others, 
and refers often to them in the notes of his translation of the 
Popal Vuh. He carried away with him the original, and no 
copies remain. 

The historian Fuentes cites some Indian manuscripts, from 
which he asserts he has taken facts relative to the history of 
these countries anterior to the arrival of the Spaniards. We 
do not doubt the existence of these documents, but cannot say 
as much with respect to the fidelity of the translations. Their 
substance differs notably on various points to all the others we 
have seen, and as there are many errors in the work of Fuentes, 
and even falsehoods which appear intentional, the faithful his- 
torian finds himself obliged to doubt these data. Bat unfor- 



36 GUATEMALA. 



tunately these errors or misstritemeuts have been widely circu- 
lated, and have formed until now the basis of the history of 
the epoch anterior to the conquest, for they have been adopted 
and popularized by Don Domingo Juarros in his history of the 
city of Guatemala, which latter in great part is a copy of the 
chronicle of Fuentes. 

As we before stated it is very difficult, if not impossible, to 
say who were the true indigenes of the country. Going back 
to the most ancient traditions we find mention of the coming 
of Votan, who found the Territory of Tabasco, where it is sup- 
posed he disembarked, peopled by savage tribes, to whom that 
chieftian and those who accompanied him, were compelled to 
submit before he was able to civilize them. To him is attributed 
the foundation of the great city, whose ruins are now known 
under the name of Palenque, bat whose original name was 
i^achau or I^a — chan. This city became the capital of a vast 
and powerful empire, which Votan and his successors extended 
until it embraced certain provinces of Mexico and a portion of 
Central America. This empire is designated by Indian his- 
torians under the name of Xibalba or Xibalbay. 

The Bishop of Chiapas Nunez de la Vega, and two other 
writers, Ordonez and Cabrera, have furnished many circum 
stances relating to that personage (Votan), who they assure 
us; left a written memorial, in which he refers to his great 
deeds and his long and dangerous journeys, and also gives a 
minute account of the dynasty of the "Votauldes." Yet there 
are many who even doubt that this hero ever existed, consid- 
ering him as nuTcly the personification of one of the most 
ancient epochs of Central American civilization. 

According to the authors who sustain this opinion, the 
legend of Votan is of Asiatic origin, and presents certain affin- 
ities to others of the old continent. 

Afterwards came the Xahuas, or Nahoas, generally known 
by the name of Tultecs. They founded the city of Tula, ( whose 
ruins are near Ocosingo), to the southwest of Palenque, in the 
modern Mexican State of Chiapas. The chief of this people, 
whose mechanical skill and advanced civilization merited the 
eulogies of ancient writers, was Quetzalchutl, whom the Mexi- 



GUATEMALA. 37 

cans worshipped as a god, and the Giiatemaltecan traditions 
designated by the name of Gucumatz. 

The capital ot the Tultecs became, in time, more powerful 
than the Empire of Xibalba, and wrested from the latter the 
supremacy of the country. The Xibalbaides were obliged to 
emigrate, and were scattered in different directions. Some of 
them founded to the north of the present Oity of Mexico 
another capital, to which they gave the name of Tula, and 
established a new kingdom, which, according to certain writers, 
existed four centuries. Tl^e historian Clavigero says this mon- 
archy was established in the seventh century, and was de- 
stroyed in the eleventh by a famine occasioned by the scarcity 
of rain and the plague that followed in the train of the famine. 
Other writers assert that the last Tultec king of Mexico, who 
was named Topiltz Acxitl, emigrated with the remnant of his 
people to Honduras, where he established the kingdom of 
Hueytlato and fixed his residence at Oopautl. 

There are likewise traditions of other emigrations, as for 
instance, that of certain tribes from the north, who came 
under the command of two families named Tamub and Hocab. 
They took possession of the country and completed the de- 
struction of Tula and l^^achan. This race was afterward known 
under the name of Mam, since corrupted to Mem, which signi- 
fies stutterers. This appellation was ai)plied to that people 
on account of the difficulty they encountered in pronouncing 
certain letters of the Cakchiquel alphabet. 

Remnants of the Tultecs, who were formerly established on 
Mexican territory, were those tribes, which, in this country, 
took the name of Quiches, as well as others also who came 
with them. They conquered the people they encountered and 
took possession of the greater part of the country. There 
likewise came from Mexican Territory other immigrants who, 
some time before, had spread along the southern coast as far 
as the locality, which, at present, marks the boundary line 
between the Republics of Honduras and Nicaragua. These 
tribes bore the name of Chorotegas, or Ohorotecas, from which 
came that of Oholuteca, a city they founded near the point 
which terminated their progress to the south. 



38 GUATEMALA. 



The editor of the Popal Yuh confases these different emigra- 
tions and refers to the arrival of his nation in this country, 
accompanying the narrative of the event with mythological 
and allegorical circumstances, amid which it is necessary to 
search for those historical facts which the writer seems to 
have done his utmost to disfigure, if not conceal. 

He says: " that having departed from a region jn the east," 
which he does not particularize, " the tribes of the Quiche, of 
Tamub of Eabinal, the Cakchiqueles, those of Tziquinaha, by 
Balam-Quitzi, Balam-Agab, Muhuentah and Iq-Balam, they 
came to a place named Tulanzu, according to the Spanish 
translator, or Tulan-Zuiva, according to the French transla- 
tor. It is designated also by the name of the Seven Caves 
and the Seven Barrancos, but it is no other than the city of 
Tula, founded, as we have before said, by the ISTahuas, in the 
State of Chiapas. 

He adds : " that at this place the languages of the tribes 
became so altered and diversified that they could ho longer 
understand each other." Here they separated 5 each nation 
taking a separate route. They were compelled to cross the 
sea, which they did in a miraculous manner, for the water 
divided, and they journeyed over several long straight lines 
of stones. 

The Quiches settled in the wooded foot hills of Hacavitz, 
in Yerapaz, to the north of Eabinal, and did little else, for a 
long time, save commit acts of vandalism upon the neighbor- 
ing people, the Mames, who, on their part, vainly exerted 
themselves to destroy these adventurers by force or by strat- 
agem. 

The object of these raids of the Quiches was to capture 
human beings, for the purpose of offering them, as victims, 
on the altars of Tohil, a sanguinary deity, who with Abilitz 
and Hacavitz formed the Trinity of the religious system of 
these people. 

The tribes which inhabited the immediate vicinity of this 
Quiche colony were compelled to submit to the yoke of the 
latter, who were led by four fortunate captains. When they 
had accomplished their mission these chieftains disappeared 



aUATEMALA. 39 

in a mysterious mauuer, leaving the government to their three 
sons, Qocaib (son of Balam-Quitze), Qoacutee (son of Balam- 
Agab) and Qoahau (sou of Manucutah). The fourth chieftain, 
Iq-Balam, left no successor. 

In conformity with the advice given by their fathers, before 
they disappeared, the three new chieftains made a long jour- 
ney to the East. They crossed the sea with facility, and pre- 
sented themselves before a great monarch named Nacgic, who 
invested them with the supreme command and also with the 
symbols of sovereignty, and instructed them in the principles 
of government. On their return they were received with joy 
by all the tribes, who immediately separated and colonized 
different localities, for the population had increased to such 
an extent that the limits of Hacavitz could no longer con- 
tain it. 

One of the localities they populated was named Chi-Quix- 
Che, or simply Quix Che, from which doubtless is derived 
Quiche. This latter afterward became the name of the nation. 
They built a city which they called Izmachi, in whose con- 
struction they used stone and lime, more solid materials 
than they hitherto utilized in building their miserable habi- 
tations. 



CHAPTER 111, 

Pall of the First Invaders and Rise of the Quiches- -They Rapidly Con- 
solidate Their Power — The Sanguinary Wars of the Latter, in which 
they are luvariably Victorious — Their Form of Government — They 
Arrive at the Apogee of Power. 

The occupation of a great part of Guatemaltecan territory 
by the Quiches, according to the French translator of the 
Popal Yuh, took place between the fifth and sixth centuries of 
our era. They established four monarchies, under as many 
different branches of the royal family; named of Oavek, of 
]!^ihiab, of Ahau Quiche and of Ilocab. The principal of these, 
and that which presents the most historical interest, is the 
Cavek, which exercised a certain degree of supremacy over 
the rest. At the epoch of which we treat, their settlements 
extended from the country of the Lacandoues to the Pacific 
Ocean, with the exception of the eastern districts near Lake 
Ysabal and the maritime provinces of Escuintla. 

In establishing — although with some feeling of doubt — the 
position of the numerous tribes who occupied the territory 
which is now the Eepublic of Guatemala, we place in the 
centre the tribe of Tamub, whose capital was situated near 
Santa Cruz Quiche. That of Ilocab peopled the territory 
which extended to the south and west of the country of the 
Tamub. These two nations, in conjunction with another 
whose name is lost, constituted, in conformity with the Tultec 
system, a confederation which was the head of a grand em- 
pire, and which ruled over other sovereignties of less import- 
ance. 

The Pokomanes, who formed a part of the "Thirteen tribes 
of Tecpan," settled Verapaz and the lands south of the Mota- 
gua river. The Mames extended to the frontier of Chiapas. 
One of the various branches of this powerful nation took for 
its capital Qulaha, which became an important city. It was 
situated at the foot of the volcano of Santa Maria, or Excanul, 
and was also called Mma — Amang — the grand city. When 



GUATEMALA. 41 

conquered by the Quiclies it received the name of Xelaluon, 
or Xelahun — Quich (i. e., under the ten deers). After the 
conquest it was called Quezaltenango. 

The Quiche nation played an important part in the history 
of Central America before the Si)anish conquest. The Popal 
Yuh furnishes a list of fourteen kings from Balau-Quitze to 
Don Juan de Rojar and Don Juan Cortes, the last sovereigns, 
who exercised a merely nominal sovereignty un'der the yoke 
of the conquerors. The latter judged it prudent to preserve, 
for a time, the shadow of the Indian monarchy. Other authors 
give the Quiche uation twenty-four kings. Of course it is im- 
possible to decide which list is correct. 

According to the Popal Yuh, Balan-Quitze was the founder 
of the Quiclie monarchy, and the first of its sovereigns. This 
king has left no other record than that of having brougiit his 
people to this country, and his acts of vandalism and robbery 
of human beings for sacrifice. The most memorable act per- 
formed by his son Qocabib was his journey to the East, of 
which we have made mention. The translation of the Quiche 
nation from Hacavitz to Chi-qui-che, and the founding of the 
city of Izmachi, which the Popal Yuh attributes to Qocabib, 
according to the Spanish translator, are events which the 
French author supposes to have occurred during the reign of 
the third king, Balan-Conache. The truth is, the Indian man- 
uscript is somewhat obscure on this point, for in another place 
it states that the arrival at Chi qui-che, and the founding of 
capital, took place in the fourth generation, or during the 
reign of the fourth of the Quiche monarchs. 

The version of Ximinez designates this last king by the 
names of Cotuha-Zttayul), but the French translation derives 
two distinct personages from this name. Cotuha exercised 
the functions of Ahau-Ahpop, or sovereign, and Zttayub, or 
Iztayul, those of Ahpop-Camha, or associate in command, 
according to the laws and customs of the Tultecs. The Popal 
Yuh speaks sometimes of Cotuha-Iztayul as of one person, 
and then again mentions the King Cotuha and the King Izta- 
yul. It is probable they were two different personages, who 
governed the nation in conjunction. 



42 GrUATEMALA. 



The kingdom of Quiche possessed three great families at 
that epoch : That of Oabiquib, commonly called the Cavek ; 
that of Mhaibab, and that of Ahau-Qaiche. All lived in their 
new establishments tranquil and pacific. But the envy of the 
kindred tribe, ruled by the family of Ilocab, according to 
some, or the alarm occasioned by the ambitious projects of 
Cotuha and Iztayul, according to others, occasioned a san- 
guinary war. The Ilocab entered with a large army into the 
territory of the first (Quiche nation. Cotuha and Iztaj^ul were 
not taken by surprise. They gathered their numerous hosts, 
attacked the invaders and defeated them with great loss. 
Some of the conquered were reduced to slavery and others 
were immolated at the altar of the sanguinarj' god, Tohil. 

The Popal Yuh adds that this victor}^ gave rise to the Quiche 
custom of human sacrifices, forgetting that it had attributed 
this horrible invention to the first King Balan-Quitze. 

Their first enemies subjugated, the Quiches continued to 
grow more and more powerful. They fortified their city, and 
established the custom of celebrating the weddings of their 
daughters with grand feasts. These feasts were paid for from 
the presents received on the occasion. They might be regard- 
ed as semi-religious ceremonies, and were considered a thanks- 
giving for the augmentation of the population. 

At that epoch the nation was divided into seven capules, 
which may be designated as seven judicial districts. 

In the translation of Ximinez, Grucumatz-Cotuha figured as 
fifth king. He was known as "the first of the marvelous or 
prodigious," a name given him by consequence of the super- 
natural deeds attributed to him by the entire nation. It is 
said that the king went to heaven for seven days, and he also 
passed seven days in hell. Afterward he transformed himself 
into a serpent for a similar length of time, and immediately 
after changed into a tiger, which form he also retained for 
seven days. Another time he took the figure of an eagle for 
a week, and for another seven days appeared as congealed 
blood, "and indeed," adds the credulous Quiche annalist, 
" great was the respect paid him for these marvelous trans- 



GUATEMALA. 43 



formations, which were effected before all the lords and all the 
people of his kingdom." 

G-rave quarrels between the principal families, who were 
raised far above all other classes of society, occurred during 
the government of G-ucumatz, The version of Ximenez, of 
the Popal Vuh, throws but feeble light on the cause of these 
quarrels. It says : '' There were conflicts regarding the invi- 
tations extended at the weddings of their daughters,' for not 
offering liquor to the judges of the wards." The French 
'translation is still more confused on this point, and simply 
says: "Their quarrels assumed a serious aspect, and they 
threw at each other the bones of the dead." 

Whatever may have been the origin of these disputes, they 
gave rise to occurrences of transceudant importance. The first 
was the removal of the capital from Izmachi to Utatlan, an 
ancient and venerable city wliioh was in a ruinous condition. 
It received the name of Gumarcha, which signifies old or rot- 
ten cabins. The second important occurrence was the subdi- 
vision of the three great fiimilies into twenty-four noble 
houses, obliging the chief of each to build a palace in the new 
capital. 

The French translator of the Popal Yuh conceives that the 
object of Grucumatz in subdividing the three great families, 
and creating new dignitaries, was to satisfy the ambition of 
the inferior nobility, and to diminish the power of the high 
aristocracy. He opines, also, that the removal of the capital 
was a wise measure that effectually contributed toward ter- 
minating all discord, by employing many people and a great 
amount of treasure in the construction of the grand temple, of 
the numerous pajaces, and of the other edifices erected in 
Utatlan. 

The kingdom gained a great access of power and majest^^ 
under the firm and prudent reign of Gucumatz, without hav- 
ing recourse to arms to force the neighboring people to respect 
the orders of that sovereign. His wise^ policy, which the 
Quiche annalist is always anxious to attribute to his super- 
natural powers, obtained the respect of his own people and 
the obedience and fear of the other tribes who inhabited the 
country. 



44 GUATEMALA.. 



The son and successor of this monarch was Tepepul, the 
sixth sovereign, who reigned in conjunction with another 
prince of the name of Iztayul. They left behind no record of 
any memorable action. 

The seventh monarch was Caquicab. or Cabiquicab, who 
reigned with Oavizimah and extended the Quiche domination 
by means of conquest. Chuvila, near the mountains of Vera- 
paz, inhabited by the Rabinals, Cobkeb, Zacahaba, Zaculen, 
Ohuvi-Megena, Xelahu, Ohuva Tzak and other numerous 
towns of the Oakchiquels and of the Mames fell under the 
iron yoke of the Quiches, who passed through the country 
with fire and sword, reducing to slavery those of their enemies 
" they did not tie to trees and cruelly shoot to death with 
arrows." 

The Indian annalists eulogize the courage and strength of 
Quicab, and compare him to the lightning. He cut to pieces 
with his sword the rocky mountains of the localities he con- 
quered. To prove this assertion the Indian historian mentions 
a certain cut rock, in the ancient city of Colche, and another 
on the coast called Petayab, and which is still in plain sight 
of all passers-by. 

He built a wall around the city, to which labor all his vassals 
were called upon to assist. Fearing doubtless for the security 
of his dominions, which were gained in great part by conquest, 
he established watch towers along the frontier, where sentinels 
noted the movements of his enemies. He jealously fortified 
many towers and heights which served as an outer wall to his 
kingdom. 

That these prudent measures were not uncalled for, and that 
the numerous precautions taken were insufficient to prevent a 
catastrophe, is succinctly related in the Cakcliiquel manu- 
script, although the Popal Vuh passes in silence over the dis- 
asters which befell the Quiche nation during the reign of 
Quicab. 

The first was the civil war. The plebe demanded to be ex-, 
empted from the taxes and tributes to which tliey were sub- 
ject as vassels. Six of the principal agitators demanded of 
the king and his assistant sovereign the redress of these griev- 



GUATEMALA. 45 



ances. They were refused a hearing and immediately hung. 
This violent measure was adopted by the advice of the nobility, 
and was productive of the most disastrous consequences. A 
formidable sedition broke out ; but strange to say, this rebel- 
lion was headed by the sons and two grandsons of Quicab. 
They were not inspired by a sentiment of justice toward the 
inferior class, but by the culpable desire to despoil their old 
father of the power and riches he possessed. 

The palaces of the nobles were invaded and sacked by the 
rebels, many of the aristocracy were assassinated, and the 
king himself was reduced to prison. Quicab was compelled 
to accede to the demands of the people, several of whom were 
soon elevated to the principal of&ces of the monarchy. By 
means of these concessions the old king was permitted to exer- 
cise the executive power, but his authority was really gone. 
The victorious popular classes were turbulent and ungovern- 
able, and, as is generally the case in such situations, a puerile 
and insignificant cause served as a pretext for a serious and 
disastrous -sedition. 

From the epoch to which we have arrived in our narration, 
the history of the Quiches is intimately connected with the 
Oakchiquel monarchy. The latter was a feudatory and ally 
of the former, but had preserved its political entity. It had 
proved a faithful ally of Quicab in the wars he waged against 
the other tribes of the country. Established in the moun- 
tains of Ohiavar and Tzupitayah, and thus near neighbors to 
the great nation, frequent and daily intercourse took place 
between the peoples. At the close of the fourteenth century, 
or the beginning of the fifteenth, according to the calculations 
of the French translator of the Popal Vuh, Huntoh and Yuku- 
batz held the scepter of the Oakchiquel monarchy. In con- 
formity with the Tultec custom, the sovereign power was 
exercised by a king and his associate (joined in power) which 
custom also obtained among the Quiches. 

These two princes enjoyed the affection and protection of 
the old Quicab, their feudal lord, and visited him frequently 
at the caj)ital. One day a Oakchiquel woman went to the city 
to sell tortillas, a common food of the people in those days as 



46 GUATEMALA. 



also in the present.^" One of the soldiers of the plebeian guard 
of Qiiicab attempted to rob the woman of her stock. She 
defended herself and ended by beating the wonld-be robber 
with a stick. The law relating to robbery being extremely 
severe, the Quiche authorities sentenced the soldier to be hung; 
but the people rebelled, and not only prevented the man's 
punishment, but demanded the woman's death. The kings of 
the Cakchiquel interfered and released the woman from the 
fury of the crowd. Then the popular ire turned against them 
and the matter assumed serious proportions. Some wished 
to avenge themselves on the two kings personally, but others, 
more prudent, limited the matter to a demand upon their owu 
king to procure redress for the alleged wrong done the Quiches. 

A meeting of the council of the nation was immediately 
called. The violent petition against the kings of the Cakchi- 
quels, demanding their heads, was heard. The petitioners 
plainly evinced their jealousy against these, the onlj^ princes 
in the country, who continued reigning in splendor amid the 
ruin of the nations which had fallen under the exterminating 
yoke of the Quiches. They demanded the persons of the 
monarch and his associate, and menaced Quicab with death 
if he refused to accede. 

But the king sternly refused and managed to evade the 
difficulty, which success the Cakchiquel chronicler attributed 
to his wisdom, his magic powers, and his knowledge of the 
mysterious science of the Tultecs, of which he was a consum- 
mate master. The truth is that Quicab perfectly understood 
the situation, and foreseeing the tempest that menaced both 
him and his proteg^., called them secretly to him, and indi- 
cated the only means of avoiding it. 

" This war, my sons, is not directed against me alone, but 
against you also. Do not think that it has concluded. It has 
but just commenced. You have seen what the people have 
done to me. They have destroyed my family, and robbed me 
of my slaves and riches. They wish to do the same to you. 
Come, then, to a firm and decisive resolution. Go, dear friends ; 
abandon this vile city, filled with a villainous and rebellious 
population, who neither respect nor listen to you. Gro to. 



GUATEMALA. 47 



Iximche, upon the Eatzamut; erect there your palaces, and 
a city where your i)eople will be enabled to live in peace, for 
it is certain you can no longer remain in Chiavar." 

This discourse, which concluded with an imprecation against 
the plebeians, made a lasting impression upon the Oakchi- 
quel princes, and they hastened to put in execution the pru- 
dent advice given by Quicab. They heard the opinion of the 
old men of their nation, and theu abandoned the cities of 
Ohiavar and Txupitayah, followed by their people, who dis- 
plaj'ed their animosity against the Quiches by burning all the 
A'illages on the road. Arriving at Iximche, also called Tecpan- 
Quauhtemalan, they took up their abode in that famous city, 
which, from that date, became the capital of the Cakchiquel 
monarchy. It is very probable that it was also the capital of 
the first kings of the Tultecs, judgiug from the title given it 
by the Indians of the Oher Tinamot or old capital. 

They immediately began to fortify tbe city and make prepar- 
ations for defense, for they plainly saw that before long the 
horrors of War would be upon them. The seven factions — or 
parties — into which the nation was divided, unanimously, and 
with enthusiasm, approved the action of the king and his 
associate, and sent ambassadors to congratulate aud commend 
them on their resolution to preserve their independence. They 
bestowed upon the sovereigu the title of Ahpozotzil or Eey 
De Los Murcielagos, (i. e., king of the bats), which was an 
ancient nickname of his family, and upon his associate that of 
Ahpoxahil. 

The struggle soon commenced. The Quiche had garrisons 
in Chakilya and Xivanul, frontier towns near the territory of 
the Cakchiquels, which after the Spanish conquest took the 
names of San Gregorio and Santo Tomas. The Cakchiquels, 
on their part, had not neglected to place forces in the towns 
near the garrison of their enemies. It was not long before 
fighting took place. The Quiches were the aggressors, for 
they attacked the fortified posts of the Cakchiquels. They 
were not only defeated and their general slain, but they lost 
the towns Chakilaya and Xivanul, which so demoralized them 
that for the time being they desisted from further hostilities. 



48 GUATEMALA. 



The Oakchiquel kings, relieved from all anxiety on this score, 
bestowed their attention to certain interior regulations. They 
distributed their subjects among the chiefs of the tribes, embel- 
lished their city, and proclaimed for their nation complete 
independence. 

Some years after these occurrences Huntoh died, and was 
succeeded by his son Lahunah, or Lahuh-Ah. Upon the death 
of Huntoh's associate, Yakubatz,his son Oxluhuhtzi succeeded 
him. The Oakchiquel chronicler eulogizes the wisdom and 
heroism of these princes, which rendered them terrible to their 
enemies. He speaks of the campaigns they conducted, but 
does not mention against what enemies. Upon the death of 
Lahuh-Ah, his son Cablahuh Tihax mounted the throne and 
reigned jointly with Oxlahuhtzi, "and whose majesty com- 
menced to shine after the death of Quicab, the enchanter king 
of the Quiches." 

The history of the two nations, so intimately connected 
during the reign of this monarch, was even more so in the 
reign of Tepepul II, the ninth king of the Quiches, who had 
for associate in the government, Iztayul III. 

The hatred entertained by the chiefs of the Quiche army 
and people against the Oakchiquels, restrained by the respect 
they still retained for Quicab, was openly manifested as soon 
as that monarch's eyes were closed in death. Jealous of the 
greatness of the city of Quahtemalau — ancient Iximche — 
which evinced signs of great progress since it became the 
capital of the Cakchiquels, they awaited with '• malignant 
envy" an opportune occasion to discharge their ire upon that 
centre of population. An unfortunate circumstance occurred 
which afforded the Quiches the long sought for opportunity. 
In consequence of an excessively cold spell, which destroyed 
the cereal crop, a famine wrought sad havoc among the 
poorer classes of the city. Upon information of this event, 
the chiefs of the Quiches took counsel together and resolved 
to make war upon their unfortunate neighbors. They armed 
the entire fighting population of their nation, and taking with 
them, on a platform borne on the shoulders ot porters, L heir- 
god, Tohil, they began their march. Their principal captains 



GUATEMALA. 49 



'■' osteutationsly adorned their heads with beautiful feathers 
and their persons with golden ornaments and precious stones." 
The Cakchiquels, although prepared for war, by no means 
appreciated the extent of the danger that menaced them. A 
Quiche deserter presented himself before the kings, Oxla- 
huhtzi and Gablahuh-Tihax, and informed them of the approach 
of the enemy. "They are coming," he said, " not in legions 
of 8000 and 10,000 and 6000 men, but in multitudes. Day 
after to-morrow they will be here, and their irruption will be 
terrible, for they will level the city to the ground and put its 
inhabitants to the sword." 



CHAPTER IV. 

Fall of the Quiche Nation — Foundation of the Cakchiqiiel Empire. 
Wa.rs with Other Nations — Their Civil Wars — Arrival of the Span- 
iards and Destruction of the Aboriginal Nations. 

The kings of the Cakchiquels were not intimidated by the 
approach of the Quiche lords ; and far from fearing the result 
of a battle, were desirous of deciding the quarrel in the field 
by the force of arms. They rapidly concentrated their arms 
and took position at the place where their enemy was likely 
to appear. The first combat proved favorable to them ; thus 
animated by these partial triumphs, they prepared to receive 
near their capital the main body of the Quiche army. The 
description given by the Indian annalist of the battle fought 
in the vicinity of Quahtemaian is animated and picturesque. 

" From ^the moment the first rays of the rising sun com- 
menced to tint the tall summits of the neighboring hills and 
mountains with a flood of golden glory, the war shouts of the 
hosts sounded across the wide valley ; the battle flags were 
spread to the wind ; the drums and shells sounded, and in the 
midst of the confusion the Quiches, whose files moved with 
menacing velocity, were seen descending the mountains in all 
directions. When they arrived on the bank of the river that 
courses near the city, they occupied the houses and formed in 
line of battle under the command of their kings, Tepepul, Iz- 
tapul." 

" The meeting of the rival forces was terrible. The war cries 
and the sound of the military musical instruments frenzied 
the combatants, wliile the heroes of either army utilized all 
their powers of enchantment. IsTevertheless, in a short while 
the files of the Quiche were broken and confusion entered 
thieir ranks. 

"The greater part of their army fled without striking a 
blow, and the carnage was terrible. Among those who fled 
were the kings, Tepepul and Iztayul, who were afterwards 
captured with their god Tohil, the G-alel-Achi, the Ahpop- 



GUATEMALA. 51 



Achi, the grandfather and the son of the keeper of the jewels, 
the sculptor, the treasurer and the secretary (dignitaries of 
the Quiche court), and a vast number of the plebeians, all were 
put to the sword. Our old men say, my sons, that it was im- 
possible to count the Quiches who fell by the hands of the 
Cakchiquels on that memorable day. Such were the heroic 
deeds by which the kings Oxlahuhtzi and Cablahuh-Tihax, as 
also the heroes Eoimox and Rokelbatzin, rendered forever fa- 
mous the mountains of Iximche." 

This memorable battle established the power of the Cakchi- 
quels on a firm basis and secured them the principal position 
among the Central American kingdoms, which before had 
been held by their conquered rivals, the Quiches. 

Prom that date history makes but little more mention of 
the latter nation than give a list of its seven later kings, in- 
cluding the two shadows who reigned for a while after the 
conquest of the country by the Spaniards. 

The battle of the Quahtemalan did not extend to the other 
nations the blessings of peace. The Cakchiquels, filled with 
pride, gave way to ambitious designs ; openly aspired to the 
domination of the whole country, and soon began to develop 
their plan of conquest. The first country on which they cast 
ambitious eyes was the territory of the Akahales, a branch of 
their own people, who occupied a large portion of what is 
now the Eepublic of Guatemala, from the volcano of Pacaya 
to the vicinity of the Golfo Dulce. 

These people were vassals of the monarchs of Quahtema- 
lan, and their capital, Holom, rivaled that city. The prince 
Tchal-Amoyac was guilty of a serious crime, in the eyes of 
the courtiers of Oxlahulitzi; his great riches, of which the.y 
decided to despoil him. Eesolved on his ruin, they had him 
called to the capital, and although he had a presentment of 
his fate, he obeyed the summons and presented himself, ac- 
companied only by a few of his counsellors. As he entered 
the saloon of the palace, the courtiers fell upon him and his 
five companions and cruelly assassinated him in the very 
presence of the kings, immediately after the occurrence" of 
this villainous action, the towns and villages of the Akahales 



52 aUATEMALA. 



were occupied, and soon afterwards were incorporated with 
the dominions of the Cakchiquels. 

These events alarmed the neighboring States. A confede- 
ration was formed by a great number of nations who were 
resolved to defend their independence which was so seriously 
menaced by the ambitious princes of Quahtemalan. The 
chiefs of this confederation were Wookaok, king of the Atzi- 
qninibayi, who occupied the banks of the lake Atitlan, and 
Belche-Gih, whose principality was situated in the mountains 
near the Quiche nation. . 

Wook'aok erected in his capital, Paraxtennya, a castle or 
fortress, surrounded by entrenchments and deep barrancos. 
Confiding in these defenses he calmly awaited the Oakchiquel 
attack. The kings of the latter nation, proud of their victories, 
delayed tut a short time, before marching against this enemy, 
and besieged the fortress. - The strugle was deadly, after 
fifteen days of continuous combats, the besiegers mounted to 
the assault. They entered the place and beheaded all the 
surviving defenders. The unfortunate Wookaok paid with 
his life the crime of having dared to resist the unjust enemies 
of his country. 

The powers of the sovereigns of Quahtemalan had reached 
its apogee. The nation possessed the same supremacy that, 
years before, had belonged to the Quiches, whose kingdom, 
under the reign of the great Quicob was the most powerful of 
all the Central American nations. Such was the situation of 
these countries, when, during the last years of the fifteenth 
century, Cristobal Colon landed on the shores of the Kew 
World. 

The copy of the Cakchiquel manuscript, from this epoch, 
proceeds in a detailed chronological order, furnishing dates 
for each of the events to which it refers. In the year 1497 a 
serious insurrection broke out in the capital, which placed in 
great peril the authority of the kings whose influence appeared 
to have been firmly established by the triumphs they had 
secured and the supremancy they had acquired over their 
rivals. 

The inhabitants of Quahtemalan divided into two factions ; 
the Zotziles and the Tukuches, and although both chiefs be- 



GUATEMALA. 53 



longed to the royal family, and were vassals of the same 
sovereign, they occupied different quarters of the ciry ; the 
first held that portion surrounding the royal palace and was 
under the immediate rule of the sovereign. The second, re- 
cognized as chief, one of the individuals of the minor branch 
of the royal family, who exercised at court the functions of 
Atzih-Winak. (He who gives and he who makes the presents.) 

This position was filled by Oay-Huuahpu, an ambitious 
prince, who, in consequence of his great riches and numerous 
vassals, exercised vast influence in the country. By paying 
court to the aristocracy^, he succeeded in ijlaciug himself at 
the head of a large party. He secretly aspired to the throne 
and simply awaited an opportunity to carry out his designs. 
It was not long before one presented itself. 

The Tukuches, vassals and clients of the haughty lord, quar- 
reled with Akahales, who since their confederation with the 
Cakchiquels had remained tranquil. The quarrel had its origin 
jn a violent act committed by the Tukuches who attempted to 
destroy a field of grain belonging to the Akahales, the latter 
defended their property and repulsed the aggressors. The 
dispute between the two factions assumed a grave character, 
and the king and his associate went to the locality to decide 
the question. Cay-Hunahpu improved the occasion to carry 
out his design. He demanded the lives of the Akahals, a bold 
and unjust demand, as the latter were clearly in the right for 
they had been attacked by the Tukuches. The kings refused 
to acceed. Then the insurrection broke out in full force openly 
headed by the evil minded prince Hunahpu. 

The movement assumed alarming proportions. The terrified 
kings endeavored to come to an understanding with the insur- 
gents. But their efforts proved fruitless, none of their con- 
ciliatory measures sufficed to placate the anger of the chief of 
the Tukuches. Then the monarch and his associate were weak 
enough to accede to that act of injustice they had so energeti- 
cally refused to commit before. The Akahales were delivered 
up and were sacrificed, but this concession did not improve the 
situation. Cay-Hunahpu was reconciled to the king. The con- 
ciliatory policy of his rivals, far from inclining him to peaceful 



54 GUATEMALA. 



settlements, stimulated his pride and caused him to judge the 
enterprise in which he was engaged as easy of accomplishment, 
nevertheless, subsequent events showed the error into which 
the ambitious chieftain had fallen. 

Publicly and without the least attempt at concealment, he 
continued taking steps to carry out his plans. He appointed 
a day upon which his armed vassals were to attack the capital, 
for which purpose he marched them but to a position near the 
river, which flanked the city. He organized his forces and had 
begun to make dispositions for the attack, when the faction 
of the kings i>erceiving that a conflict was inevitable, decided 
to seek the enemy and give him battle outside the city. 

" What a terrible spectacle it was" says the Cakchiquel 
annalist •' that was presented of the innumerable hosts of the 
Tukuches, whose divisions were not counted by 8,000 10,000 
or 6,000 men." Their chieftains' feather head-dresses were 
placed over crowns of gold and precious stones. At the sound 
of the drums dnd trumpets the combat commenced. 

Among the partisans of the kings were four women, accom- 
panied by as many warriors, who used their bows with such 
skill and displayed so much strength that their arrows reached 
as far as the litter of Chacuibatzin, one of the most fiery and 
gallant chiefs of the Tukuches. At length these heroines 
suddenly disappeared ; then one of the divisions of the de- 
fenders of the city furiously charged a position held by the 
enemy. The latter could not resist the shock but fled, and 
abandoned the position they had occupied. This circumstance 
decided the battle ; the Cakchiquels gallantly charged along 
the whole line and completely defeated the Tukuches. The 
prisoners, men, women and children, were put to the sword, 
Cay-Hunahpu and the other princes of his party paid with 
their Jives their crime of rebellion, while the remains of that 
immense army which had menaced the capital with destruc- 
tion dispersed and sought refuge in the neighboring towns 
and villages. 

But the victory of the kings was far from pacifying the 
monarchy. The chronicle of the Oakchiquels records an un- 
interrupted series of civil insurrections and foreign wars with 



GUATEMALA. 55 



the other nations of the country. Among the latter the king 
of Zacatepequez took ui:) arms against the Cakchiquels and 
struggled to free his country from this heavy yoke. He finally 
succeeded, and was hailed by his gratified people by the title 
of Achi-Calel, and established his capital in the kingdom of 
Yampuk. This monarch built forts in various places to de- 
fend his dominions from the attacks of the Cakchiquels, and 
was always jealous of their movements. 

Once, when a number of Pokomane emigrants, who came 
from Ouscottan, begged him to receive them, he did so,- but 
placed them in a situation as remote as possible from the Cak- 
chiquels frontier. This monarchy of Yampuk had but two or 
three kings up to the time of the conquest. 

Thirteen years afterwards (1510) Oxlhuhtzi died, and in the 
following year his associate, Cablahuh-Tihax. They were 
succeeded by their sons, Hunig and Lahuh-l^foh, the dignities 
of AhpOzatzel (king) and Alpoxahil (associate or assistant 
king). In the first year of their reign an event happened that 
left an indelible mark in the history of those people. A Mex- 
ican embassy arrived at the Cakchiquel capital. Much has 
been written about this embassy, but little concerning it is 
actually known, nor of the object the Emperor of Mexico had 
in view. The CakchiqueJs annalist simply says that "Mexi- 
can embassadors arrived and that they were numerous." 

Fuentes and the writers who have followed him mention 
this famous embassy. They do not attribute it to Montezuma 
but to Ahuitzotl, the eighth king of the Mexicans. They add 
that its object or pretext was to propose an alliance between 
the Quiches, the Cakchiquels and the Tzutohilo, and refer to 
the result of the mission. The embassadors first presented 
themselves at the court of the King o± Quiche at Utatlan, who 
sent them away without listening to their message, under the 
singular pretext that he did not understand their language. 
They next went to Quahtemalan, where, it seems, they were 
better received, but nothing is said as to the success of their 
mission. They next proceeded to Atitlan, but the ferocious 
princes of that monarchy drove them away with a volley of 
arrows. They returned to Utatlan, but the Quiche king or- 



56 GUATEMALA. 



dered them to leave the capital the same day and the kingdom 
within twenty-four days. Fuentes says " the Grnatemaltecan 
people believed they came for the purpose of learning the con- 
dition and number of the forces, of studying the roads and of 
selecting the best points of attack. 

If this event took place at the epoch mentioned in the Cak- 
chiquel's manuscript, it is not probable that the Mexican em- 
peror had the object in view, attributed to him by Fuentes. 
In the year 1512, the Spaniards had already established settle- 
ments- on the eastern shores of the Continent. As it is 
likely that Montezuma had been informed of this (to him) 
extraordinary event, it is very likely that he desired to get 
more accuratei information, and probably, also, to form alli- 
ances to defend the country from the danger that menaced it. 

If such was the object of this embassy it failed completely, 
by consequence of the terror inspired by the Mexican emperor, 
and also by the want of forethought on the part of those to 
whom it was directed. The Mexican empire was invaded 
before the monarchies of Central America were, but far from 
assisting the Mexicans, one of these kingdoms solicited the 
protection of the foreign invaders. 

In this place it might be well to examine the assertions of 
certain authors who assert that at one time Guatemala was 
subjected to the empire of Mexico. We cannot find records 
among the Indian documents, ot any notice of such a tran- 
scendent occurrence. In fact, neither the Popal-Yuh, the 
Cakchiquel manuscripts, nor any of the ancient historical 
documents of the country (with the single exception of one 
called Titulo de la Casa de Ixcuin ]!^ehiab, ) make mention of 
any foreign conquest of Gruatemala. It seems certain, how- 
ever, that Ahuitzotl, a warlike Mexican monarch, led his army 
to Nicaragua along the Pacific coasts, but there is no record 
of his having penetrated into the interior of the country. 

The American author, Mr. Prescott, speaking of the limits 
of the Aztic empire, observes that : " at the period of the 
Spanish invasion the monarchy of the Montezuemas," did not 
include any x)ortion whatever of Guatemala. 



GUATEMA.LA. 57 



War between the Cakchiquels and the Quiches broke out 
again in the year 1513. The generals of the former entered 
the Quiche country, and according to their custom, celebrated 
their triumphs by the sacrifice of human victims. 

But if the fortunes of war still clung to the banners of the 
Cakchiquels, they were singularl}^ unfortunate in other par- 
ticulars. In the year 1515, a terrible invasion of locusts, 
which were preceded by numerous flocks of i)igeons, devas- 
tated their fields. The same year the greater portion of their 
capital was destroyed by fire. Yet the Cakchiquel's manu- 
script refers to the successful termination of several wars 
during this epoch. But, nevertheless, misfortunes crowded 
thick and fast upon the nation. A plague broke out in Quah- 
temalau. It attacked the high and the low. The king Hunig 
and his oldest son, Ahpop-Achi-Balam, the associate king, 
Lahuh Noh, and forty great lords, among them some princes 
of the royal fam.ily, succumbed in a few days. The death rate 
among the people was so great, that the living were unable 
to bury the dead. The effluvia from decaying corpses assisted 
the spread of the plague which almost depopulated the city. 
The remains of many of those who fled to the mountains served 
to fatten the thousands of Zopolotes — buzzards — that infested 
the locality. 

Upon the death of the king, Hunig, and his eldest son, 
Achi-Balam, as his other princes were yet very young, his 
younger brother, Balam-Qat, was elevated to the dignity of 
Ahpozatzil, and Cahi-Imox, son of Luhuh-Noh, became Ah- 
poxahil. This latter prince died before the plague ceased. 

These princes, upon learning of the occupation of Mexico 
by Cortes, and the irresistible power of the Spaniards, deter- 
mined to send an embassy to the stranger chief and solicit 
assistance and protection against their enemies. This inci- 
dent, which certain authors either never mention or appear to 
doubt, is clenrly proved by a letter from Cortes to the Em- 
peror Charles Y., dated Mexico, October 15, J 824. The authors 
referred to never heard of this letter. 

The period that transpired from the sending of the above 



58 GUATEMALA. 



mentioned embassy until the arrival of Pedro de Alvarado in 
the country was marked by continued wars between the vari 
ous kingdoms of Gruatemala. A revolution having broken out 
in Atitlan, the kings of that country were obliged to take 
refuge in Quahtemalan. They solicited the assistance of the 
Cakchiquels, who acceded to their requests and marched 
against the rebels. They took twelve cities from the insurrec- 
tionists, which they set fire to after having thoroughly sacked 
them. The remaining rebels took refuge in a strong fortress, 
to which the Cakchiquels laid siege. It at length surrendered, 
and the fugitive mouarchs were replaced on the throne. 

The rivalry between the different nations gave rise to fresh 
discords and more disastrous wars, when at length a foreign 
invader crossed the Quiche border. In a series of sanguin- 
ary battles nation after nation was subdued, and in a short 
time the lately powerful and flourishing Indian kingdoms of 
Guatemala were destroyed, and the unfortunate people were 
forced to submit to the heavy yoke of Spain. 

With the advent of the Spaniards in Central America ter- 
minates the historical part of Mr. Jose Milla's essay on the 
aboriginal people of Gruatemala. The remainder of this ad- 
mirable article is devoted to the legends, the traditions, the 
habits, the customs, the laws and the religion of these singu- 
lar people, who had established flourishing kingdoms, reared 
grand palaces and temples, and built cities whose ruins to-day 
attest the high degree of civilization, enlightenment and me- 
chanical skill to which they had attained. 

But neither Mr. Milla nor any other Central American au- 
thor attempt to sustain the opinion advanced bj^ the American 
writer, John L. Stephens, Esq., that the numerous ruins which 
are scattered over the surface of Central America were the 
work of the people found by the Spaniards at their arrival in 
the country. 

The principal of the ruined cities of Yucatan, Chiapas,, 
Guatemala and Honduras undoubtedly belong to an epoch far 
anterior to the advent of the people mentioned in that portion 
of Mr. Milla's essay which we have already translated. Late 



GUATEMALA. 59 



explorers have no hesitancy in asserting that Oopan, in Hon- 
duras, and Chichen-Itzi, Yacatan, were built thousands of 
years ago, while the opinion is daily gaining ground that the 
grand city of Papantla, whose remains are found near Tuspam, 
Mexico, was in ruinS long before the builders of Thebes or 
Karnac laid the foundations of their famous capitals. 



CHAPTER y. 

The destruction of the Central American republic — Eeign of terroninder 
Carrera — Defeat of the reactionary party — Accession of Biirrios to 
power — Eumors regarding that statesman — Pacification and regen- 
eration of Guatemala. 
Uljon the death of Gen. Morazan and the disintegration of 
the republic of Central America, Guatemala, in sad company 
with her four unfortunate sister States, was long the prey of 
contending political factions. The defeated Liberal party 
fought the triumphant Serviles until its chiefs were either dead 
or in exile, and then, in despair desisted from further efforts. 
But although flushed with triumph, the Serviles, led by the 
clergy of Guatemala, were doomed to meet with a crushing 
disappointment. In their struggle they had made use of a 
terrible instrument who wrested the reins of power from the 
united Serviles, nobles and clergy, and held them with a firm 
hand for nearly thirty years. 

During the latter part of the civil war a half-breed — ladino — 
named Carrera, had placed himself at the head of a horde of 
Indians, and on several stubbornly contested battlefields suc- 
ceeded in wresting victory from the gallant Liberals. 

This person was a fair type of that class of men who in civil 
wars rise to the political surface, turn passing events in their 
favor, grasp control of power and burden history with dark 
deeds and tales of license and uncontrolled brutality. He could 
read and write a little, but was otherwise *totally uneducated. 
In early life he had been an humble servant in a patrician 
family. Soon afterward he was a swine-herd, and while roving 
the hillsides and valleys in search of food for his employer's 
herds, became acquainted with certain disaffected Indian chief- 
tains, and with them concerted a plan of insurrectian against 
the government of the Creoles, a part of which plan was the 
total extermination of the entire race, and the elevation of the 
aboriginal tribes to the position they held at the epoch of the 
conquest. 



aUATEMALA. .61 



The rebellion of tbe Serviles against the laws of reform and 
the Liberal party furnished him the long-sought-for opportu- 
nity ', but he waited until several battles had been fought, and 
both parties were nearly exhausted before lie issued from his 
mountain fastnesses at the head of his sanguinary hordes and 
joined the Serviles. He soon crushed the despairing Liberals. 

His next step was to capture the city of Gruatemala, which 
he succeeded in accomijlishing. Then was inaugurated a ver- 
itable Reign of Terror. The principal leaders of the Liberal 
party were summarily executed without any form of trial, 
upon the mere identification of their persons. Others, of less 
importance in the political arena^ were exiled, their property 
was confiscated, and their families were persecuted and sep- 
arated. 

In the first flush of success he restored to the church a por- 
tion of the power she had once used and abused. The clergy 
were regranted many of their most onerous privileges, while 
even the so-called nobles, descendants of the conquerors, or first 
settlers, were amused and partially contented with vain titles 
and specious privileges. But when the clergy and the nobles 
meddled with politics and endeavored to obtain a share of 
power he sternly repressed them. He reminded the prelates 
that their mission on earth was one of peace and had for its 
object tlie propagation and preservation of the one universal 
religion, while the patricians were coldly advised to cultivate 
and improve their estates, but to leave politics alone, that he 
was the State, and would govern the republic to suit himself. 
The high-spirited leaders of the Servile party, who were 
deeply chagrined that their humble instrument had become 
their master, rebelled. The cowardly tyrant fled to an estate, 
he had appropriated. But his brother, at the bead of a small 
but determined band of adherents, retook the capital, trod out 
the embers of the insurrection and conducted the dictator in 
triumph to the palace. His return was marked by many san- 
guinary executions, and the Reign ot Terror was revived. His 
faithful Indian allies sent deputations to congratulate him on 
the failure of the insurrection and to place thousands of armed 
aborigines at his disposal. 



62 GUATEMALA. 



Then the tyrant showed himself in his true colors, and if 
his da^'S were spent in govermental dnties, his flights were 
passed in lust and debauchery. Woe to the matron or maid 
that pleased his brutal^ fancy, nor were there wanting in- 
stances where patrician ladies sacrifices theraselved to save 
the life of a brother, a sou or a father. 

Although rough and uneducated, the man certainly pos- 
sessed great natural talents and an aptitude for governing. 
Had he had the advantages of an education, his career might 
have been the brightest of liis country's history, instead of 
the darkest, every page of which is written in blood. Not- 
withstanding the numerous insurrections that were inaugu- 
rated against his government, and the various plots that were 
formed to assassinate or poison him, he died peacefully in his 
bed, in the plenitude of power, surrounded by the humble 
instruments who, although occupying high positions, trembled 
in his presence and servilely obeyed his orders. 

Such was the terrible reputation of the tryant and such the 
impression his administration had left on the minds of his 
countrymen, that for some time his successors governed 
through the influence of his name and memory. But the 
three decades of servile rule had bred a new generationfof 
Liberals. The names of Morozan, (3abanos, Soto and other 
Republican martyrs were repeated with respect and venera- 
tion by thousands of young men who burned to follow their 
example and free their country from the galling and oppres- 
sive yoke that weighed so heavily upon it. 

At length the flames of civil war broke out. After years 
of cruel strife, after seas of blood had been ^hed on numerous 
battlefields, the Liberals were eventually successful, and Gen. 
Granados, surrounded by many of the most gallant young 
Liberal chieftains of Central America, entered the city of Gua- 
temala in triumph. In his cortege were two young men who 
were destined to make a lasting impression on the history of 
Central America. One was Gen. Euflno Barrios, actual pres- 
ident of Guatemala, and the other was Marco. A. Soto, the 
reformer of Honduras and its ruler during seven years. 



GUATEMAX,A. 63 



The three decades of servile rule had almost entirely cor- 
rupted the morals, the intelligence and the politics of the 
country ; thus, notwithstanding his acknowledged talents, his 
unswerving patriotism, his strong liberal principles and the 
purity of his intention, Gen. Miguel Granados confessed he 
was not capable of working out the reformation of his country 
and he cast his eyes over the Liberal leaders in search of a 
man able to perform the task he was about to give up in de- 
spair. The choice of the Liberals fell upon Gen. Rufino Barrios, 
and, with a brave heart and a determination to succeed, this 
chieftain accepted the trust. 

His first measure was the reorganization of the army. He 
dismissed all lukewarm officers and named for chiefs of bat- 
talions men whom he could trust. He then humbled the 
clergy — took from them the education of the young and ex- 
pelled the Jesuits. He sternly repressed the patricians, and 
inculcated that dogma of freedom, that all men are born free 
and equal, and that notwithstanding the accidents of heredi- 
tary wealth and social position, all men are equal in the 
eyes of the law. He reformed the laws and ordained that 
they should govern the rich as well as the poor. The costly 
rite of church marriage was declared illegal, and that only the 
civil marriage was binding on the contracting parties. "Cou- 
ples marrying by the civil law might afterwards, if they chose, 
have their union blessed by the church, but when the latter 
ceremony alone occurred, children born to such an union were 
illegitimate; and the parents' brothers, sisters, and even the 
most remote relatives of parties married solely by the church, 
could, in case of their demise, inherit their property to the 
total exclusion of their children. ISTotwithstanding the strin- 
gency of this decree it was often evaded by the clergy. 

Then a law was enacted making it a criminal act for a priest 
to marry a couple according to the ceremonies of the church 
until the certificate of their i^revious marriage by the civil 
magistrate was produced. The penalty attached to such 
action was a heav3^ fine together with imprisonment for a long 
period. This late proved effective. 

The commerce of the country was at a complete standstill. 
The roads were ruined and were almost impassable, while petty 



64 GUATEMALA. 



chieftains ruled each department and municipality. Agricul- 
ture was limited to the simple production of a few cereals that 
supplied wants of the laboring classes. 

Barrios then turned his attention to the public highways. 
Each municipality was ordered to repair the roads in its imme- 
diate vicinity. Those villages too poor to accomplish much 
were assisted from the federal treasury. In a short time the 
old roads were repaired and new ones together with bridle 
paths were cut in different localities. Several of the most 
onerous taxes that burdened commerce were abolished and 
honest and efficient revenue officers were appointed at the 
various ports. Instruction was made public, obligatory and 
gratis, and no priests or ministers of any sect whatever were 
permitted to control institutes of public instruction. The mu- 
nicipal and departmental governments were reformed or, per- 
haps, it might be better to say remodeled. Agriculture was 
taken under the protection of the government. Land was 
granted on easy terms to planters and farmers, and bounties 
paid from the federal treasury encouraged the cultivation of 
sugar, cacao, coffee and bananas. 

The final separation of church and state was the grandest 
undertaking accomplished by this great reformer. Hitherto 
the church had overshadowed the state and the clergy com- 
prised a caste whose privileges rendered them independent of 
the laws. They claimed as inalienable rights all the numerous 
and onerous taxes hitherto granted their hierarchy, and to 
make good those claims more than once plunged their country 
into civil war. Barrios felt that to succeed in curtailing 
their power and political influence he must first lake away their 
privileges. This he did. For a long period this formidable 
caste bitterly hostilized him. But the passage of time has 
proved his greatest auxiliary. The rising generation of Gua- 
temaltecans is essentially liberal. Although many young men 
from traditional reasons may detest his person and even his 
political course, at the same time they cheerfully acquiesce in 
his war against the ancient church regime and cordially sus- 
tain his acts in this direction. 

An impartial student of Central American history must 
acknowledge that the pacifi^cator and regenerator of Guate- 



GUATEMALA. 65 



mala, Don EufiTio Barrios, is one of the most wonderful per- 
sonages treated of in its pages. While finely educated, he 
owes more to his natural abilities than to his scholastic at- 
tainments. As a soldier, he certainly ranks peer with any 
officer developed during the interminable civil wars that have 
heretofore devastated his native land. In statecraft, he bears 
comparison with such Latin American diplomats as Juarez, 
. Lerdo and Diaz, and is naturally cool and deliberate. 

His dearest hope and greatest ambition is to bring about 
the speedy reunion of the disintegrated fragments of the once 
powerful Eepublic of Central America. If any man can, in 
the present i)olitical situation, accomplish this grand work, 
he certainly will. His influence in Central American politics 
is felt even in the distant Eepublic of Costa Eica, while the 
Presidents of San Salvador and Honduras are closely bound 
to him by the ties of both gratitude and interest. His strong- 
arm sustains the unpopular Zaldiva in Salvador, while his 
potent influence restrains tlie factious chieftains of the Soto 
party in Honduras from attempting any revolutionary move- 
ment in either of the three northern republics. 

The enemies of this truly remarkable man have published 
the most whimsical and absurd stories regarding him. They 
have .depicted-^ him as an inhuman monster, and as the incar- 
nation of all that is terrible and criminal. He is said to have 
beaten monks and nuns to death with his own hands, and to 
have dragged shrieking women about the streets by the hair. 
Blood-curdling tales have been promulgated regarding the 
innumerable victims he has sacrificed at his political shrine, 
while he has been compared to Tiberius and Kero, to Caracala 
and Caligula. 

The fact of the case is that General Barrios, in order to 
bring about the social and political reforms he meditated, was 
compelled to resort to extraordinary means. During the brief 
period of his dictatorship he unhesitatingly swept from his 
path the factious and lawless spirits who constantly endeav- 
ored to thwart his measures. Yet but few, even of the most 
criminal of his and his conntry's enemies, were executed. 
Imprisonment and exile were the punishments he resorted to; 

5 



66 GUATEMALA. 



and if he shot three or four irreclaimable revolutionists, he 
simply banished many desperate characters who either medi- 
tated or attempted his assassination. 

To his unswerving patriotism and great military and dip- 
lomatic talents the Eepublic of Guatemala owes its political 
regeneration. He is emphatically the Juarez of Central 
America, and like that hero has been vituperated and villifled. 
He is a fond and indulgent father and an exemplary husband. " 
If his is dictatorial and never brooks open contradiction, he is 
open to conviction and readily yields to the opinions of 
others, when convinced that he is in error. His friends esteem 
and love him, but his enemies fear and respect him. During 
the last two years he has gradually softened the rigor of his 
rule and has become popular even with his old enemies, the 
clergy. 

General Barrios wields a facile and powerful pen. His 
sentences are terse and brief, and his language simple and 
unconstrained. His famous letter to Soto, which annihilated 
that gentleman's pretensions to patriotic abnegation, was a 
masterpiece irony and invective. His state papers are re- 
markable for their clearness and conciseness, to prove which 
assertion the following, one of his late passages, is reproduced 
verbatim, but the reader must not forget that in a translation 
the purity and elegance of the original language is often 
marred : 

'' I hail with the utmost satisfaction the arrival of the day 
upon which you resume the ordinary reunions of the Legisla- 
tive Power, in the fourth year of the first Constitutional period. 

" Brief and simple is the report 1 have to present you, re- 
garding the situation of the country and the labors that have 
occupied the attention of the government -, but nevertheless, 
the cordial welcome I extend you is none the less sincere in 
this solemn moment of the opening of your session. 

" Peace has continued showering its blessing upon the Ke- 
public. Under these favorable circumstances the government 
has earnestly endeavored to improve the condition of the 
country. 



GUATEMALA, 67 



"Our actual relations with all America and the various 
powers of Europe, are frank and friendly, and the fraternal 
embrace of Guatemala is happily extended, to-day, to all the 
Eepublics of Central America. In accord with the President 
of San Salvador, I accredited a commissioner, who, in union 
with another appointed by him, was sent to propose to the 
other republics the reconstruction of a national Union. If 
this measure can be carried out, in the pacific and friendly 
manner with which it has been proposed, it will prove of im- 
mense significance to the future of Central America. The 
commissioners have neither returned nor rendered an official 
account of their mission. 

"The serious questions that were pending during your last 
ordinary reunion have since been completely and happily 
settled. Military discipline is improving every day. Public 
instruction has been continued, although certain points have 
been suppressed which were considered superfluous. Especial 
attention has been given to the preservation of the interior 
order, and the independent and the regular march of justice, 
while constant protection and impulse has been extended to 
all classes of useful enterprise. 

u Work has begun on the railroad lines from Escuintla and 
Ohamperico to the capital. The work on the latter has con- 
siderably advanced ; the construction company has brought 
to our coast, the rails and all other indispensable materials; 
while, if the enterprise is not further advanced, it may be 
attributed to the scarcity of workmen ; for there has not been 
wanting persons who endeavored to prevent the laboring 
classes from engaging in these enterprises. I propose, how- 
ever, to dictate effective measures to place at the disposition 
of the comi^any all the laborers necessary, which is all that is 
required to rapidly conclude this important line. The heads 
of the department, in their respective reports, will give a de- 
tailed enumeration of the dispositions taken to obtain those 
interesting results that in all these different branches has 
occupied the attention of the administration. 

"The fall in the price of coffee has exerted a prejudicial 
influence on the public and private wealth of all the countries 



68 GUATEMALA. 



that produce this jirecious staple, oreatiug a crisis more or 
less serious and prolonged. It has also, naturally, affected 
our national revenues and prevented a healthy condition of 
the public treasury, notwithstanding the prudent economy, 
that has been introduced in the public service. The dimuni- 
tion of the price of our most valuable article of export will 
not, in my conception, continue much longer. More favorable 
notices have arrived to strengthen the faith of our agricultu- 
rists and merchants, and by the suppression of all unnecessary 
expenses in cultivation and production, and also by means of 
the excellent mode of preparation that is gradually being 
perfected among us, coffee production will continue furnishing 
profit to the planters, and will also insure the equilibrium of 
the national revenues. The low price of the article, at the 
same time, will prove an excellent reason to the planters to 
develop those other classes of agricultural riches with which 
prodigal nature has blessed our priviledged country. 

The Minister of this Eepublic to the government of the 
Queen of England has arranged with the bondholders of the 
Exterior Debt for its gradual extinction. The government is 
at present occupied in the examination of this arrangement 
and will soon take,, with respect to it, such resolutions as the 
true interests of the country require, and will submit these 
resolutions, if necessary, to your examination. 

" Referring you for information on other points to the neads 
of the departments, I entertain sincere hopes that your de- 
liberations will be fruitful in happy results for the country, 
and that the most complete success will crown your efforts." 



CHAPTER VI. 

San Jose cle Guatemala— Establishment of the Port— Its Former Impor- 
tance — Fleets Built by the Conquerors — Port Livingston— Pictur- 
esque Towns — Its Increasing Commerce — The Curious Carib Resi- 
dents. 

Immediately after the conquest of the principal Indian king- 
doms of Guatemala, by the chivalrous and impetuous Pedro 
de Alvarado, measures were taken to open communication 
with Panama, and the port of San Jose de Guatemala was es- 
tablished in the southwestern portion of the new province, on 
the Pacific coast. 

At this locality the coast is low and unprotected from the 
winds, which, during the entire year blow from the south and 
the west. The sea is constantly more or less agitated, and 
the breakers dash high on the shallow sandbars that guard 
the shore. 

Early in the morning and in the evening it is almost impos- 
sible to land on the beach with a small boat. The surf is at 
least six feet high, and the breakers come rolling in toward 
the shore with an increasing and monotonous regularity, 
while their sullen thud is heard for miles in the interior. 

Within twenty years after the conquest the port of San 
Jose became a place of great importance. Timber was carried 
Irom the pine forests of the interior, on the backs of thou- 
sands of Indian tamanies, or porters. 

Ironwork, sails, rigging, etc., were transported to the coast 
in the same manner, and numerous vessels were built at the 
little port, which carried on a profitable traffic with Acapulco, 
to the north, and Panama and Callao in South America. 

It is true that each plank, each spar and each anchor used 
to construct and equip those vessels was moistened with the 
bloody sweat of the poor Indian peones, of whom thousands 
fell dead on the highway, on their weary journey from the 
forests to the port, beside the heavy loads they were forced to 
bear. 



70 GUATEMALA. 



There has been no correct list of the number of vessels con- 
structed by the Spanish under such difficult circumstances 
during the first century of the occupation of the country. 
We know, however, that the conquerors and their immediate 
descendants built several formidable fleets at this locality, 
and equipped them for long voyages of discovery. Some of 
these squadrons crossed the wide Pacific and trafficked with 
the East Indies ; others coasted the extended shores of North 
America as far as Vancouver's Island, while others regularly 
traded with Chili, Peru and Panama. 

The interior of G-uatemala is extremely broken and moun- 
tainous. From the capital to Port Livingston and Santo To- 
mas, on the Caribbean sea, the roads are bad and need con- 
stant attention to keep them in condition. Although during 
the Spanish regime vast quantities of bullion and other freight 
were transported on muleback over these mountain paths to 
the Atlantic, the bulk of the country's commerce passed 
through the port of San Jose. 

G-uatemala City is situated about sixty miles, by the road, 
from San Jose. The highway has always been kept in a fair 
condition. Thus the productions of the indigo, cochineal and 
cacao plantations were collected at San Jose, and transported 
from thence to Spain via the expensive and difficult route 
across the Isthmus of Panama. Articles bought for the con- 
sumption of the province, in the markets of Spain, by the 
time they reached Gruatemala City via the Isthmian route, 
often cost five times their original value in freight charges 
alone. Olives, wines, cloths, linen, arms, munitions of wa,r, 
ironware, tinware, etc., were all imported from the mother 
country. The exports were silver and gold bullion, cacao, 
cochineal, sugar, indigo, hides, sarsaparilla and other tropic 
products. 

In less than a century from the epoch of the conquest the 
formidable buccaneers made their appearance in the lN"orth 
Atlantic and harried the commerce of the loyal provinces. A 
bold pirate captured Tigre Island, in the Bay of Pouseca, and 
from this point sallied forth on the Spanish vessels which 
trafficked along the coasts. In a few years the western com- 



GUATEMALA. 71 



merce of Guatemala was almost destroyed. That of Panama, 
Chili and Peru was greatly distressed, and the pirates, seeing 
there was no more plunder for them in this locality, boldly 
steered their crafts across the wide Pacilic and attacked the 
Spanish fleets and settlements in the Bast, 

From this epoch until the era of independence the port of 
San Jose was almost deserted. About once a year two or three 
vessels from Peru and Panama stole slowly along the coast, 
their crews keeping a good watchout for the dreaded pirates, 
and landed precious cargoes of much needed supplies of 
various kinds, at the little port. A portion of the commerce 
of G-uatemala passed over the expensive and difficult roul;e to 
the Caribbean, but this freight consisted principally of silver 
and gold bullion. 

Meanwhile the agricultural industry was almost destroyed 
by, the unwise policy of Spain. The government, fearing the 
colonies would become self-supporting, prohibited the cultiva- 
tion of vines, olives and other products throughout their Amer- 
ican possessions. These unjust decrees reduced the colonies 
to the utmost distress. The planters produced but a small 
quantity of indigo, cochineal and cereals, the latter entirely 
for their own use. The principal industry was mining. But 
the high cost of breadstuffs and the exactions of the crown 
soon paralyzed this industry also, and in the beginning of the 
nineteenth century the once flourishing commerce of Gruate- 
mala had almost ceased to exist. 

The separation of the province from the yoke of Spain im- 
parted a new and vigorous impulse to industry. Coffee plan- 
tations were established, tbe cultivation of cacao, indigo and 
cochineal was revived, and in a few years the little port of 
San Jose presented a bustling and lively appearance. During 
the numerous civil wars that have since convulsed the country, 
both commerce and agriculture were greatly distressed, but if 
these industries languished they were never entirely destroyed. 

The town of San Jose is built on a sandy ridge running 
parallel with the coast. It possesses a few wooden buildings 
which are surrounded by Indian cottages built after the fashion 
of the country. During the rainy season this ridge is sep- 



72 GUATEMALA. 



arated from the rest of the town by a bayou. The latter is 
empty during the dry months. 

The port is visited b}^ English, French and German steamers, 
and is connected with Mexico and California, and with Panama 
and South America by the Central American branch of the 
Pacific Mail Steamship Line. In April last six foreign sail 
vessels, from England, France, Germany and the States, were 
anchored off the port. Its commerce is carried mostly by sail 
vessels, which bring their cargoes via Cape Horn ; yet its traffic 
with Panama and San Francisco is very considerable. The 
village of San Jose contains, perhpaps, 1000 inhabitants. 

An English company has built a long iron wharf out into 
the harbor. It is at least 200 feet long and cost $400,000. The 
traveler, at first, may be inclined to grumble at being com- 
pelled to pay SI from the steamer to the wharf, Si more for 
the privilege of landing and seventy-five cents per 100 pounds 
on his baggage. But when he casts his eyes on the high, white 
line of breakers that sullenly dash against the beach he is 
reconciled to the expense and inwardly confesses he would pay 
five times as much more for the certainty of escaping the duck- 
ing that he would experience if he attemped to land in a small 
boat. 

A narrow gauge railroad, in good condition, connects San 
Jose with the city of Guatemala, some sixty miles inland, in 
a straight line from the coast. This road was lately finished 
by the Huntington syndicate, and forms part of their Central 
American system. 

Livingston, the principal seaport of Eastern Guatemala, on 
the Caribbean, is situated on a high bluff that overlooks the 
Bay of Honduras on its eastern side, and the mouth of the 
Rio Dulce on the southern. It contains 500 houses and about 
3000 inhabitants. 

Until October, 1879, the town of Yzabal, situated on the 
lake of the same name, was the eastern port of Guatemala, 
but at that date the government of the republic decreed the 
village of Livingston a port of entry, and the custom-house 
and other government buildings were erected at the foot of 
the bluff, on the southern or river side of the town. 



aUATEMA.LA. 73 



President Barrios two years ago declared Livingston and 
the country for eight leagues on all sides of it a free port and 
zone. So the custom-house has been removed again to Tzabal, 
and the latter town is now the port of entry for Easteru Gua- 
temala. The ports of Santo Tom as and Puerto Barrios are 
also within this free zone limit. 

Directly opposite Livingston the water of the Eiver Dulce is 
sufficiently deep for vessels of any draft to anchor within a short 
distance of the beach, but beyond the town to the northward 
a few hundred yards the mud from the winding river forms a 
long, narrow bar that reaches to the opposite bank of the river, 
is quite wide and carries but about six feet of water. It is 
dangerous to cross in the afternoon when the cool and refresh- 
ing sea breeze sets in about 2 p. m. 

The bluff upon which the little town is built is in no place 
less than sixty feet high. On the river side, near the wharf, 
it ascends abruptly up to the height of at least 100 feet. 

The port derives its name from an English gentleman who, 
some decades ago, was the British consular agent at the Island 
of Euatan, Spanish Honduras. Tradition hath it, that the 
climate of the Caribbean Island not agreeing with his health, 
he removed to this port and lived for many years. His grave 
is pointed out to the traveler by the grateful Oaribs, among 
whom he passed his time, teaching them how to read and write. 
Such, in brief, is the only information that can be elicited why 
this little Spanish- American settlement bears an essentially 
American name. 

By far the greater part of the inhabitants of Livingston are 
Caribs, at least so they are called and so they style themselves, 
but it is doubtful if a single drop of Indian Carib blood courses 
through the veins of many among them, for the miscalled 
Oaribs are seemingly of pure negro origin, and they possess all 
the characteristics, as well as the features, of the black race ; 
not of the Gruinea negroes, however, but of the tribes that once 
roved the wilds of southern Africa. Their complexion is rather 
lighter than that of the unmixed Southern negro, nor are their 
noses as flat or their foreheads so retreating. They resemble^ 



74 aXTATBMALA. 



ill fine, the pictures of the Zulos, but are by no means as fine 
a race, physically, as the latter are represented to be. 

As far as the genuine Oaribs are concerned, but little doubt 
exists in the minds of the English officials at Belize of their 
almost total extermination by the Spaniards within thirty 
years after the discovery of the Antilles by Columbus, in 1492. 
They possessed villages along the entire coast of Central 
America, from the northern extremity of British Honduras to 
the Isthmus of Darien, They were a brutal and a ferocious 
race, ever at war with their neighbors or with each other, for 
the Carib nation was sub-divided into several tribes, who united 
their forces only when attacked by the warriors of some other 
nation. It is said that they stubbornly and successfully re- 
sisted the attempts of the monarchs of the ancient Indian 
kingdoms to subdue them, while they met the Spanish " con- 
quistadores " man to man on'^the shores, or beside the rivers 
of their native land, and continued their resistance until the 
greater part of their people had fallen under the swords of the 
invaders, when a small remnant of their once large nation 
retreated to the mountains and joined the inhabitants of those 
inaccessible sierras in an eternal warfare against the Spaniards. 

They were undoubtedly cannibals, or at least they ate the 
prisoners they captured in battle, while so terrible was the 
reputation they acquired among their foes that the Spaniards 
dreaded to encounter them, and out of respect to their prowess 
and undaunted courage named the vast sheet of water that 
washed their inhospitable shores ^' El Mar de Los Caribes" — 
the sea of the Caribs. Such were the indigines of the eastern 
coast of Central America during the sixteenth ceutury. 

It has been asserted that some of the present race of negroes 
who live ou this coast and who are miscalled Caribs, are prin- 
cipally Jamaicans, who have emigrated since the emancipa- 
tion. The greater part of them, however, are said to be the 
descendants of a cargo of slaves. The ship in which they were 
brought from Africa, and which was directed to the Jamaican 
slave mart, was driven into the Caribbean Sea by a terrible east- 
erly gale, and was wrecked on the coast of British Honduras. 
Whether this latter information is correct or not, one fact is cer- 



GUATEMALA. 75 



taialy self-evident, these people are not Oaribs, but are almost 
full-blooded negroes. 

They inhabit the entire coast from the southern extremity 
of the peninsula of Yucatan to the Isthmus of Darien, and may 
number in all about 20,000. 

They are a quiet, iadrastrious and peaceful race of people, 
but when roused are capable of long and untiring resistance 
to tyranny, and make excellent soldiers, for when well treated 
they are extremely docile and susceptible to discipline. 

In G-uatemala they are possessed of privileges which are 
denied the half castes and Creoles of that republic, for before 
Lividgston was declared a free port they were permitted to 
import whatever they needed for the use of their families at 
but 12 per cent ad valorem duty. Such is the strictures with 
which they kept their faith with the government, that but few 
instances occurred of their attempting to evade the tariff or of 
their selling the goods they entered for their own use to for- 
eigners or to their halt-caste neighbors . 

The men are of medium size and are very stout and muscular, 
while the women appear to be a shade or two lighter than the 
males, are generally short, but are remarkably well formed, 
as well as exceedingly graceful in their movements. 

While not more than one-half of them understand Spanish 
they all speak English ; that is to say, the same mumble-jumble 
kind of language spoken by the Barbado and Jamaica negroes, 
for it is as unintelligible to an American traveler as is the 
dialect of the miners of Cornwall. 

Several careless or superficial observers have asserted that 
these poor people are loose in their morals and that they never 
marry. These writers are wofully mistaken, for this singular 
people are exceptionally chaste as compared with the peasantry 
of almost any European country. 

The young girls, as they approach maturity, are watched 
with jealous care by their parents, and are seldom allowed to 
associate with the opposite sex of their own years. Upon 
arriving at the proper age they are given in marriage, and 
this simple ceremony is considered as binding between the 
contractiug parties. When a Oarib sees a girl he fancies he 



76 GUATEMALA. 



at once asks her to unite fortunes with him. If the girl likes 
him she will answer : " Have you a plantation ready for me?" 
That is suiflcient. The Carib goes earnestly to work, and clears 
and plants an acre or two of land with yuca, plantains, bananas, 
etc., builds a hut, and then returns to claim his bride. The 
latter, with one of her friends, goes and examines the new plan- 
tation. If it suits her she so informs her dusky admirer, and 
then, in the presence of their frieads, they drink a cup of coffee 
between them. This is generally all the marriage ceremony 
that takes place, but it is considered binding audi rrevocable. 
From that time forward the woman is the owner and absolute 
mistress of the little plantation, and from its products she 
generally supports her lord and children. 

It is probable her husband may have other wives, for poly- 
gamy seems quite common among these strange people. In 
such case the tawny Don Juan lives stated periods with each 
of his wives during the year. 

These so-called Oaribs are very intelligent, and are fairly 
industrious. The men occupy their time in fishing — for they 
are essentially a race of waterman ; or in building dories — 
canoes. These boats are of different sizes, from the small 
dory that can easily be carried on a man's back to the boat of 
ten or twelve tons. They are fashioned out of the trunks of 
trees, and are similar to our southern dugout. Strange and 
incredible as it may appear to an untraveled reader, some of 
these boats are very large. The author has seen vessels, con- 
structed out of single trees that were large enough to carry 
twenty-five beef cattle. Such boats are common on the Pacific 
side of the Isthmus of Darien. 

The female Caribs are yet more industrious than their hus- 
bands, fathers and brothers, for they are the agriculturists of 
the settlements, and when not engaged in their household 
duties are either working in their fields or accompany their 
husbands on their fishing expeditions. 

So stalwart and hearty are they that they can accomplish as 
much work in a day as their brothers, and when they " work 
out" obtain the same wages as the men. Since the Gruate- 



GUATEMALA. 77 



maltecans have beeu induced to establish fruit plantations, 
the Oarib laborer has advanced from 18f to 50 cents per day. 

They invariably demand their pay in advance. If a for- 
eigner hires a laborer for fifteen days he must first give him, 
or her, $7 50 before a stroke of work is done. Then the work- 
man goes happy and contented to his labor. When one breaks 
his contract — which is seldom — the justice of peace, besides 
punishing him with a fiue, compels him to fulfill his bargain. 

Although beef cattle are very cheap, and the adjacent for- 
ests abound in various kinds of game, these people seldom eat 
meat. Their principal diet is composed of fish, of plantains, 
which are boiled and roasted ; bananas, which are generally 
eaten raw ; jiineapples and other fruit, while the bread of the 
country is the cazabe, and is made from a species of yam, 
called by the people yuca. 

This root is ground fine and is then subjected to a severe 
pressure, for it contains a semi-poisonous juice. When prop- 
erly prepared, the cazabe bread is very palatable and nutri- 
trious, while the yuca root from which it is made is as great 
a blessing to the Caribs as is the bread-fruit to the islanders 
of the Pacific. 

The commerce of Port Livingston has increased wonderfully 
during the last few months. Its imports for 1880 were : 6000 
packages of miscellaneous merchandise, a total of 574,000 
pounds ; 1839 barrels of flour, 5646 sacks of salt — a total of 
1,139,200 pounds. 

The exports during the same period were : 17,000 sacks of 
coffee (2,125,000 pounds), 2000 hides, 650 bales of sarsaparilla, 
100 bales of skins, 20,000 pounds hule (caoutchouc) and $6000 
worth of tropic fruits. 

This traffic, both export and import, has increased at the 
rate of 20 per cent for 1883 and 40 per cent for the year 1884, 
Lately the gold mining excitement that prevails on the banks 
ot the Motagua river has caused the little town of Livingston 
to assume quite a lively appearance. 

The coffee traffic of Livingston may be said to be princi- 
pally in the hands of the English and the North American 
merchants. Several invoices have been sent to Kew Orleans, 



78 GUATEMALA. 



but for some unknown reason the results were not as favor- 
able as the shipments to other ports have proven. The price 
in England ruled a very little higher than that obtained in 
New York, while the sales in l^^ew Orleans fell far below those 
of England. 

It is barely possible that the shipments sent to our city 
may have been of an inferior quality, but merchants of Liv- 
ingston assert that the article in each case was identical, and 
that for some unknown reason G-uatemala coffee seems to be 
better appreciated in the North and in Europe than in New 
Orleans. 

Some of this coffee has been lately sampled in New Orleans, 
and was pronounced superior to the ordinary grades of Eio 
that come to this maket, and nearly, if not quite, equal to the 
Mexican Cordoba staple. Nearly four j'^ears ago two enter- 
prising young Americans, Messrs. Anderson and Owen, estab- 
lished steamboat communication on the river Poliche and the 
Golfe Bulce. Thus almost all this coffee and freight trafi&c 
passes through their hands, for such is the confidence they 
have inspired among the merchants of the interior that they 
are permitted to ship it when and how they please. This 
enterprise has greatly influenced the increase of traffic from 
Port Livingston, and it is said that the firm will soon need 
mrre boats. 

The port of Gharaperico, on the Pacific coast, has lately be- 
come quite important, for a large quantity of coffee is shipped 
to foreign countries. The port is connected with a town 
twenty-eight miles in the interior by a well-constructed narrow 
gauge railroad. This road passes through a most prolific 
agricultural region. 



CHAPTER YIL 

Guateiriiiltecan Centres of Populiition— The Present Capital of the Ee- 
public — Old Guatemala-Euins of La Antigua Guatemala— Charitable 
Institutions — The Legal, Medical, Politechnique and Beleu Institutes 
of Learning — Primary Schools— The Residences of the Wealthy In- 
habitants of the Capital — Public Squares, etc. 

While more than a hnndred flourishing cities and towns are 
found within the limits of Guatemala, a city of the same name 
is the capital of the Eepublic, and the principal centre of 
population that exists throughout the extended territorial 
area of Central America. 

Three different cities bearing the same name were founded 
by the Spaniards during their occupation of the country. 
The first, or la CiudadVieja, was situated upon the site of the 
ancient capital of the aboriginal kings, which had been par- 
tially destroyed by Alvarado during the conquest. The new 
city boasted many fine buildings and imposing churches, 
monastaries and convents. It was suddenly overwhelmed, 
early the morning of the 11th of ISTovember, 1541, by a torrent 
of water that burst from the side of the tall mountain of 
Hunahpa. For two or three days before this catastrophe 
occurred, floods of rain fell from the surcharged clouds, and 
terrible squalls of wind, at intervals, burst over the devoted 
city, l^eur the summit of the volcano a vast lake or natural 
deposit of rain water had gradually collected. About two 
o'clock, that fatal Sunday morning, a series of earthquakes 
were experienced ; the shocks were both prolonged and severe. 
Of a sudden, " a great noise like the simultaneous firing of a 
thousand cannons" was heard by the terrified inhabitants. 
The porphyritic ribs of the great mountain were torn asunder 
by the earthquake's convulsions^ and the waters of the vast 
aereal lake, released from its confinement, pdured down the 
stee}) side of the tall mountain and deluged the adjacent 
plain. The beautiful city was instantaneously overwhelmed- 
The moiety of its solid edifices and all the houses of the 



80 GUATEMALA. 



ikborigines were swept away, while tlie majority of the inhabi- 
tants were submerged by the delnge. Among those who 
perished was the beautiful but haughty and imperious Beatriz 
de la Cueva, the wife of the impetuous and chivalrous con- 
queror, Pedro de Alvarado. 

The few surviving Oastillians determined to found a new 
city. A site, about three miles from the former, was chosen, 
and in a few years the " proud Ciudad de los Caballeros de 
Santiago," adorned with magnificent churches and proud 
monastaries and convents, graced the edge of a verdant val- 
ley whose southern boundary was formed by the volcano 
whicb had destroyed La Ciudad Vieja. 

This new city, or as it is now called, La Antigua Gruatemala, 
existed 232 years. It was equal in size and wealth to any of 
the great capitals founded by the Spaniards in the New World, 
excepting that proud city of the lakes, the Tenoctitlan of 
the Aztecs, Mexico, the metropolis of the vast province of 
New Spain. 

In the year 1773, this second colonial capital was destroyed 
by a series of earthquakes which followed each other with 
astonishing rapidity. Several of its proud churches, whose 
ruins to-day attest their vast strength and architectural beauty, 
were overthrown, while not one of the numerous chapels, 
monastaries and convents escaped the devastating effects of 
the earthquake. Almost all the private residences were des- 
troyed, while numerous of its unfortunate inhabitants were 
swallowed up in the huge chasms that yawned open for awhile 
and then suddenly closed. To-day a few people inhabit the 
ruined city, but its streets are almost deserted, while the 
mouldering ruins of its famous religious edifices indicate to 
the awe stricken tourist what it once had been. 

The situation of this formerly fl.ourishing centre of popula- 
tion is extremely picturesque. Its convent yards, spacious 
squares and beautiful gardens have been transformed into 
coffee groves, while half-naked Indian laborers, of both sexes, 
stare with stupid wonder upon the immense piles where once 
holy monks murmured their daily orisons. They patiently 
gather the harvest which timidly hides from the fierce glare 



GUATEMALA. 81 



of the tropic sun, under the deep green foliage of the coffee 
trees, that flourish in the once spacious gardens where gentle 
nuns chased the gaudy butterfly which in all its tinted glory 
flitted from branch to branch and from flower to flower. 

Two tall mountains guard the approach of this magic 
valley. The water volcano, inactive since the epoch of the 
destruction of the first city, rears its bold summit 13,350 feet 
above the level of the sea; while the fire volcano, which at 
times sullenly emits huge volumes of mingled fire and smoke, 
attains an attitude of 12,900 feet. 

The present[capital of the Eepublic, the far-famed city of 
Guatemala, was founded in the year 1794 by the terrified in- 
habitants of the lately destroyed Oiudad de los Caballeros de 
Santiago. That is to say, numerous of the most wealthy in- 
habitants of the former city fled to the site of the present 
capital immediately after the destruction of La Antigua. 

It was some time, however, before the home government 
permitted the removal of the provincial government to the 
present city. Guatemala, therefore, in comparison with some 
of its sister centres of population — Escuintla, for instance — 
is one of the most recently founded cities of the Eepublic. It 
is situated on the edge of a vast plain, which on all sides is 
surrounded by high mountain ranges, and contains a popula- 
tion of at least 60,000 souls. 

The site of the capital was formerly known by the name of 
El Valle de los Vacas, from the fact that the plain was occu- 
pied by one of the companions of the conquerer, a certain 
Hector de la Barreda, as a stock farm, where were collected 
he first cattle introduced into the province, in the year 1529. 

This locality enjoys one of the most delightful and healthy 
climates of the known world. Although the valley attains an 
altitude of but about 3000 feet above the level of the sea, the 
calenturas and other malarial fevers, so prevalent along the 
sandy shores of the Pacific slope never surmount the mountain 
barriers that guard the entrance to the wide plain. 

The small pox, that loathsome and dread disease which was 
introduced into Mexico in 1520, by a negro who followed the 
forces of Pamfilio iSiavaaz, rapidly spread among the tribes and 



82 GUATEMALA. 



uatious of the New World. For 350 years it has periodically 
made its appearance in differeut localities of Mexico and Cen- 
tral America. In 1884 it ravaged the aboriginal settlements 
of Guatemala and San Salvador. At differeut periods it has 
become epidemic in the capital. Under the present enlightened 
and truly paternal government, the sanitary condition of the 
capital has been vastly improved, thus whenever sporadic cases 
of the disease appear the utmost care is taken to prevent its 
spread. Isolated cases of Typhus and Typhoid fever have 
occasionally occurred but; the fever has never assumed the pro- 
portions of an epidemic. Upon the whole the capital may be 
pronounced an exceptionally healthy city. Foreigners who 
take up their residence in it enjoy excellent health. 

An excellent system of cleanliness i)revails; every day early 
in the morning the streets are swept while no garbage of any 
kind is allowed to remain on the sidewalks or in the gutters. 

The city is supplied with excellent water, from the differeut 
localities by aqueducts built in the old Spanish style, about 
live miles long. Thirty public fountains adorn the public 
squares and plazas from which reservoirs the poorer inhabitants 
draw their daily supply of the precious fluid. A few years ago, 
Gen. Barrios granted a franchise to a company to establish a 
'' water works "' for the purpose of supplying the growing de- 
mands of the capital with water from the river Zapote. 

Several of the churches of Guatemala would adorn the proud- 
est city in the world. The cathedral, although of modern con- 
struction, is a truly grand edilice. It faces the principal plaza. 
On one side of the square are the offices of the municipal gov- 
ernment, and the telegraph and railroad dej[)artments. Directly 
fronting the cathedral is the Federal palace which occupies an 
immense square and contains all the numerous departments 
and offices of the general government. On the left side, as one 
stands in front of the church, with his back to it, is a row of 
fine stores where foreign and domestic manufactured merchan- 
dise is exposed for sale. The cathedral and the bishop's pal- 
ace occupy the front of an entire square. 

This grand edifice is over three hundred feet long and is 
nearly as wide as it is long. It contains five naves, while the 



GUATEMALA. S3 



stoDe portal is exquisitely sculptured. A short distance from 
the main entrance, fronting the plaza, stand colossal statues 
of the four evangelists, while within the s;>acious edifice, in the 
tall columns and the high walls, hang some of the finest ])aint- 
rngs that can be found on the continent. The churches of 
San Francisco, La Merced and Santo Domingo, are also fair 
examples of Spanish- American architecture. 

The former contains the celebrated negro Christ whose 
votaries number legion, and whose miracles have shed a glory 
over the one universal religion and the church of Central 
America. While other images may enjoy a local reputation, 
this one in particular is famed throughout the extensive area 
of Latin America as one of the most poteot of the numerous 
sacred statues that grace the niches of the various edifices 
dedicated to the worship of the Eed^emer of mankind. An 
impartial Christian n)ight well hesitate were he called upon to 
decide as to the superiority of the claims to miraculous power 
advanced by the enlightened devotees of the three famous 
images of the Virgin of Guadeloupe of Mexico ; that of Re- 
medies ; or the famous Cristo Negro of Guatemala. There are 
at least a score of other fine churches that might be mentioned 
but the above noticed four are most remarkable on account of 
their architectural beauty and superior reputation for sanctity. 

The heretical government administered by the great reformer 
Don J. Rufino Barrios, has taken possession of the principal 
of the grand monastaries and convents and transformed them 
into government offices. The new post office is an example of 
this kind. Other monastic edifices have been turned into 
private dwellings, and no few of the elite of the capital have 
incurred the penalty of excommunication by having jjurchased, 
repaired, altered and lived in buildings that once were the prop- 
erty of the church. 

The National Theatre is a fine edifice of modern construction. 
It is situated in the centre of a vast square, which is walled in 
and provided with benches of solid masonry. This theatre 
will compare favorably, as to .size and convenience with most 
of the buildings of the same kind in Christendom. The pit, or 
orchestra, is generally reserved for gentlemen. Around the 



84 ' GUATEMALA. 



vast area lour tiers of boxes capable ofholding inanj" spectators 
are arranged. The first two tiers are specially devoted to the 
wealthy descendants of the chivalrous conquerors, the third 
row is occupied by the bourgeoise, while the fourth and last 
tier is the exclusive domain of the masses. As the opera and 
theatre are the principal public diversions of the Gruatemalte- 
cans, the government, through the medium of one of the fed- 
eral departments arranges for all theatrical representations. 
Some of the best companies of Italy and Spain are lured thither 
by the heavy subsidies paid them from the treasury, nor would 
it be an exaggeration to assert that the paternal government 
of Gen. Barrios, has, within the past twelve years, paid in 
theatrical subsidies, a large enough sum to build and equip a 
half a dozen fine gun-boats. 

The people of the city, boast with pride of the numerous 
benevolent institutions they possess. The general hospital is 
a vast structure where seldom less than five hundred patients 
are daily treated. A special fund is set apart for its mainten- 
ance, while skilful native jjhysicians, many of whom are grad- 
uates of the most celebrated medical colleges of the United 
States and of Europe, attend to the vast number of sick com- 
mitted to their charge. The military hospital, in the south- 
western portion of the city, (or rather in the suburb of that 
quarter) is also a most admirably conducted institution. The 
sick are well cared for while the convalescents are furnished the 
most nourishing and nutritious diet that money cai;! purchase. 
A gymnasium for the exercise of the most advanced convales- 
cents, has been established while pleasant walks and beautiful 
gardens adorn tjie grounds in which the edifice is situated. The 
Hospitium is an institution for the reception of crippled chil- 
dren and confirmed invalids. It is divided into two separate 
departments, one of which is devoted exclusively to the male 
and the other the female patients. The children undergo a 
thorough course of primary education during their stay in this 
humane institution. There are also two maternal asylums 
where indigent mothers can leave their offsprings while em- 
ployed in their daily labor. 

Almost immediately after he assumed the reins of govern- 
ment, the great liberal chieftain, Gen. Barrios, conferred upon 



GUATEMALA. 85 



bis couutiy an admirable public school system, exclusively 
devoted to secular education. Be'^fore bis advent to power the 
education of the young was almost entirely in the hands of 
the priesthood. The result may easily be imagined. The 
pupils were compelled to devote no small portion of their time 
to purely theological studies, while even the children of the 
poor, whose opportunity for study and improvement was necess- 
sarily very limited, were more thoroaghly grounded in the cate- 
chism, doctrines and dogmata of their religion than the secular 
elementary branches which certainly were calculated to prove 
of more material benefit to them in their temporal career. The 
new system of education being purely secular, as was above 
stated, has certainly brought about a great change in the so- 
ciology of Gruatemala. The masses are gradually becoming 
elevated to a higher grade of civilization, while every insigni- 
ficant little Indian village boasts atleast one primary school. 

The capital possesses the most celebrated and best appointed 
higher educational institutions in Central America. The legal 
college is a splendid and spacious building where numerous 
law students receive a first class training. Its library contains 
more than ten thousand volumes. The medical college, the 
school of engineers, and the Politechnique, are in every way 
peers with their sister institute the legal college. 

The National Institute, devoted to secondary instruction 
may fairly be considered one of the most perfect institution s 
of its kind on the continent. More than five hundred students 
from all parts of Central America are daily instructed within 
its walls. "It is endowed with a zoological museum, a well 
appointed cabinet for physics and chemistry, an astronomical 
observatory five story s high, together with numerous out*build- 
ings which complete the establishment." 

The Deaf and Dumb asylum, to which is added a school for 
the unfortunate inmates, is conducted on the same liberal prin- 
ciple as its sister charitable institutions. The moiety of its 
regular occupants are the offspring of the indigent class of 
inhabitants. 

The Belen Female Seminary occupies the principal appoint- 
ments of the old convent of the same name, and is well attended, 



86 GUATEMALA. 



The i)upils receive an excellent education. In this institution 
Mr. Batres assures us nothing but English is spoken. 

Besides these institutes of learning there are numerous pub- 
lic schools devoted to primary instruction in the different quar- 
ters of the city. As education is compulsory these latter schools 
are invariably well attended. 

The private residences of the wealthy inhabitants are noted 
for their elegant appearance. They are invariably furnished 
in a most luxurious style, while their spacious courtj^ards are 
adorned with flower gardens which contain the most exquisite 
exotics of the tropics. As the capital is the residence of the 
most wealthy and enterprising planters, mine owners and mer- 
chants of the republic, the number of beautiful and costly pri- 
vate houses may be readily imagined. 

Numerous public squares furnish walks and promenades for 
that class of inhabitants whose means will not permit the 
luxury of horses and carriages. On certain evenings of the 
week the membersof the elite of Guatemaltecau society frequent 
these squares and listen to the music of the military bands, 
while promenading along the flower bordered walks. 

Several lines of street cars furnish ample transportation for 
the inhabitants of the city. One line from the Palacio Nacioual 
to the Hippodrome, or race course, is particularly patronized 
by the middle class who every evening ride down the spacious 
Prado to the terminns of the line. 

The city of Guatemala possesses the best organized, ap- 
pointed and efficient police force of any city in Latin America. 
During his visit to the United States, three years ago, Presi- 
dent Barrios was greatly pleased with the appearance of the 
New York police force. He determined to organize a similar 
body in his own capital. He engaged the services of an experi- 
enced New York police officer, Capt. Pratt, and put his inten- 
tion into immediate execution. This officer has succeeded in 
carrying out Gen. Barrios' idea to jjerfection, and has already 
done wonders with the crude material given him to mould into 
shape. 

If it possesses no grand manufactories like New York, Phil- 
adelphia or Chicago, Guatemala contains numerous forges, 



GUATEMALA. 87 



carpenter sliops, and small factories of various kinds which 
have flourished under the present liberal administration. The 
native artisans of all classes are skilful and patient workmen, 
and with better tools and some further practical instruction 
would rank peer with any of their class in the world. As stone 
masons they are unrivalled. In some branches of this work 
they are superior workmen to their fellows of the United States 
and Europe. 

With its clean, well paved streets, its numerous grand pub- 
lic buildings and its finely appointed baths ; its spacious mili- 
tary barracks and its grand and beautifully adorned squares, 
Guatemala, the proud capital of the prosperous and go-ahead 
Central American republic, is truly one of the finest cities 
within the extended limits of Latin America. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Mountain Ranges and Foot-Hills — The Cochineal Insect — Coffee District 
of Retalhulen — Mr. Batre's List of Asricultural and. Forest Products 
— Torrents, Rivers, Lakes and Watercourses — The River Dulce and 
the Grolftte— The Coffee Regions of Alta Paz— Coffee Production in 
Gauteniala a Complete Success. 
The surfrtce of thd republic is corrugated by numerous moun- 
tain ranges, by their spurs and also by chains of tall foot hills 
which divide the country into numberless plains, savannas, 
and valleys. On the Pacific coast the mountain flanks slope 
abruptly downwards, leaving between them and the sea a vast 
fertile plain in which are situated the cities of Eetalhulen and 
Escuintla. They are the centres of promising and flourishing 
agricultural districts. This plain — or rather, as the country is 
broken by mountain spurs here and there — these valleys are 
noted for their prolific yield of sugar cane, indigo, corn, rice 
and cochineal. The latter valuable article of commerce, is a 
very minute insect which thrives on a species of the nopal or 
prickly pear. Vast plantations of this cactus are cultivated. 
When the harvest approaches, sheets are placed under the 
plants, which arc violently shaken, and the insects by thou- 
sands fall upon them. As soon as they leave the parent and life 
sustaining leaves they immediately die, and losing their bright 
crimson color, turn to a dingy hue. The color returns, how- 
ever, in the i)rocess of transforming the insect into the brilliant 
dye which, for a long time, superceded in the markets of Europe 
the Tyrian purple that for more than thirty centuries was the 
most valuable and famous dying extract known to the world. 

The entire Pacific slope, from the mountain bases to the 
ocean, is susceptible of being brought into the highest grade of 
productiveness, but its climate is hot and arid, and its products 
are essentially those of the torrid zone. Eetalhulen, which is 
situated at an altitude of about 2000 feet above the sea, is the 
centre of a great cofl'ee growing district. It is also the pres- 
ent terminus of the Champerico railroad. 



aUATEMALA. 89 



The agricultural and forest products are numerous, valuable 
and varied. The following- list furnished by Mr. Batres in his 
'' Sketch of Guatemala" may be considered as complete, as far 
as the present knowledge of the subject extends, for there are 
vast stretches of territory in the northeastern portion of the 
republic where the foot of white man has never trodden, and 
where most probably hitherto unknown species of medicinal 
and other valuable plants will yet be discovered. 

" Who, then, can for a moment doubt the dazzling future of 
this portion of the New World ? It is sufficient to take into 
consideration its geographical position, its fertile soil, its val- 
uable productions and all the natural riches it contains. Both 
oceans bathe with their crested waves the hot sands of the 
extended coast-lines of Central America. The variety of 
climate is so extraordinary that this fertile region furnishes the 
greatest diversity of forest and agricultural resources. While 
on the oue hand exist inexhaustible deposits of gold, silver, 
lead, opals and coal in deposits, hitherto but superficially 
worked, we, on the other hand, encounter virgin forests a bound- 
ing with valuable woods. The coffee shrub exhibits its white 
blossoms and ruby-colored fruit ; iudigo (aiiil) is cultivated on 
a vast scale. Thus over a vast expanse of territory we find 
growing wild the balsam tree, baptized by naturalists with a 
great many names (the myroxilon Sonsonatense, myrospermum 
pereirse, myroxilon punctatus,* miroxilion robinia-folium, my- 
rospermum Salvatoriense) ; there are entire forests of the India 
Rubber tree (Siphonia elastica), at present a source of incal- 
culable wealth ; there are waving fields of the sugar cane ; the 
most exquisite textile plants, like, for example, the maguey 
(Agave Americana), the saltwort, the soft rush (carludovica 
palmata), the capulin (tidia argentea), the soft aloe (furcroya 
gigantea), all capable of becoming the basis for remunerative 
industry ; resins, gums and balsams are met with on all Iiands, 
like, for instance, the liquid amber (styracifera), the mangle 
(rhizofera), the guapinol (himenea courbarie), the co[)al tree, 
the estoraque or officinal storax, the turpentine fir, vegetable 
wax (myrica cerifera), vegetable soap tree (myristica sebifera), 
the sarsaj)arilla root (smilax zarzaparrilla), the nanacascalote 



90 GUATEMALA. 



(Divi-divi) tree, and the chan (salvia-chio), quinine bark, 
vanilla beans, cocoa (tlieobroma cacao), the Chiapas pimento 
tree (Eugenia pimetta), the tjimariud tree, and a great many 
other valuable trees^ indigenous to those latitudes.. Over 
broad fields tlie'gokbin wheat and tall Indian corn undnlate in 
the wide expanse, while at the same time the fruits of all zones 
are exhibited in the same market. Thanks to the extreme 
variety of temperature, all of them are in a small extent of 
territory. Cochineal, cabinet and dye-woods, vie in abundance 
and excellence in Central America, together with hides, skins 
of numerous animals, etc., etc. 

While the native writers of Gruatemala dwell with just enthu- 
siam upon the numbv;^r of beautiful rivers that water the soil, 
there exist but few worthy of the name. The Polochic and 
Motagua, the Passion and the Dulce, the Usumacinta and the 
Michatoya are the only ones that are navigable for small boats. 
The other rivers of the republic are mere mountain torrents or 
watercourses. 

On his journeys through the country the traveller notices 
many small bodies of fresh water which are denominated lakes 
by the people of the vicinity. But four of them in reality 
deserve this imposing title. These are the lakes of Atitlin, 
Yzabal, Petin and Itzal, and are situated in localities widely 
separated from each other. 

The little G-uatemaltecan port of Livingston is washed on 
one side — the southern — by the waters of El Eio Dulce, the 
river of sweet water. This winding river, at its mouth, is very 
wide and deep. After a course of fifteen miles to the west, it 
spreads and forms a wide but deep sheet of water, called by the 
natives, " Bl Golfite," which is about nine miles wide by fifteen 
long. A short distance to the west it spreads out much wider 
than before and becomes the^La^funa de Yzabal" the Lake of 
Yzabal, which body of water is navigable for vessels of deep 
draft. Lake Yzabel covers a superficial area of about 65,000 
acres. During the rainy season severe wind and rain storms 
not unfrequently visit this usually calm region, and vent their 
fury on the unprotected lake, whose waters are lashed into foam 
by the irresistable squalls that sweep down from the contigv 
uous mountain summits. 



GUATEMALA. 91 



On the right side of the lake, as oue journeys from the 
mouth of the river towards the interior, is situated the little 
town of Tzabal, which is again the single port of entry for 
the eastern coast of the Eepublic. A trip from the port of 
Livingston, as far as the town of Yzabal, is one long vista of 
beautitful tropical scenery. At one place, about five miles 
from whei'e the river flows into the "Golflte," its waters have 
burst through a vast rocky barrier and cut a passage to the sea 
through this flinty obstacle. On either side the rocks rise high 
and precipitous over the rushing flood beneath, and form a long 
line of palisades, far superior in scenic effect to those of the 
Hudson, while the fantastic shapes, assumed by the rocks which 
were torn apart at some remote geologic period, strike the eye 
of the beholder as the work of Titanic sculptors. At one place 
the statue of a woman is seen, clearly cut and defined standing 
on a pedestal, while the figure must be at least forty-five feet 
high. As the tourist nears the statue it loses its faultless 
outline, but at the distance of a mile or so it has the appear- 
ance of a,perfect work of art. Temples and palaces, domes 
and towers, crowd upon the bewildered vision of the traveler 
as his craft follows the turns of the winding river, and it is 
only when the boat passes directly under them that he dis- 
covers the palaces, domes and statues he saw are the mere 
vagaries of his fancy, which had been conjured into existence 
by the fantastic shapes assumed by the surface of the rocky 
barrier. 

From the mouth of the Eio Dulce to the Lake Yzabal is full 
thirty miles. The lake is twenty-six miles long, thus the hither 
end at the mouth of the Rio Polochic. which might be termed 
a continuation of El Rio Dulce, is fifty-six miles from Port 
Livingston. The Polochic river runs a generally eastern course, 
from its source in the vast mountain range that cuts the re- 
public from north to south, of about eighty miles before it min- 
gles its waters with those of Lake Yzabal. 

About forty miles from its mouth is situated the little town 
of Panzos, the head of navigation and the commercial centre 
of all Eastern Guatemala. The actual distance from Panzos 
to Lake Yzabal is much greater by water, in consequence of 
the serpentine course pursued by the Polochic. This river is 



92 GUATEMALA. 

deep in places but is often along its entire course obstructed 
by shoals, yet it is in reality uari.o;-able far above Panzos for 
large dorys. IsTot far from Panzos is situated the town of 
Coban, which is the centre of the great coffee region of Gua- 
temala, for Alta Paz is not far from Coban, and at tliis former 
locality the principal coffee plantations of Eastern G-uatemala 
are congregated. 

It is safe to assume that the coffee industry of Alta Paz will 
represent a capital of at least §10,000,000. As each of the 
planters are annually setting out more trees, the yearly increase 
of the acreage of the staple is estimated at about 150 manzanas, 
or 300 acres. Four winters ago, for the first time since the 
conquest of the country by the Spaniards, frost visited Coban, 
and blighted millions of the younger plants. 

Some of the farmers pruned the trees thus injured clovse to 
the ground. They have grown up again, and in two years 
bore equally as well as an ordinary five year old tree. Those 
injured plants that were not thus treated invariably died. Their 
places have since b.^en filled by young trees which have 
begun to bear. ITotwithstahding this misfortune, the ensuing 
coffee crop was even larger than the one that preceded it. 
The harvest of 1884, produced 3,500,000 pounds for export, 
besides a large quantity consumed in the country. 

The coffee trees of Alta Paz flourish in an atmosphere and 
in a soil in every way congenial to the perfect development of 
their fruit. The neighboring mountains covered with luxuriant 
growth of forest tnnber, attract rain and conduce to moisture, 
and as the coffee tree is an essentially tender shrub, it shrinks 
from the intense glare of the tropic sun and thrives best in 
moist and humid localities. 

For several years even after it has begun to bear, it requires - 
protection from the sin, and is generally planted between rows 
of trees or under th^^ protecting shade of the huge leaved 
banana. An hour's exposure to the vertical tropic sun would 
most probably great: 3^ injure, if not destroy, a four year old 
tree, thus, it may be .seen if the cultivation of coffee is profit- 
able, the planter mut t be ever on the lookout and guard his 
precious trees from any sudden exposure to the heat. 



GUATEMALA 93 



The eight year old trees of Cobau, or rather Alta Paz, will, 
so it is asserted, yield an average of two and a half pounds per 
tree each jncking season. Those of Cordova, Mexico, are even 
more prolific and will give about three pounds, under favorable 
circumstances. The coffee plant of Cos<a Rica and San Sal- 
vador, of Nicaragua and Brazil will not average more than one 
pound and a half per tree. There is one locality, however, at 
Uruapan, Mexico, where the coffee tree grows larger and yields 
more than in any other part of the world. From some as yet 
unexphiined cause, the plant assumes the appearance of small 
apple trees, while numerous of them have several times yielded 
from twelve to forty-eight pounds per harvest. 

But if no such* phenomenal growth and production of the 
coffee plant takes place at Alta Paz in Guatemala, its growth 
is steady, and it arrives at maturity at the age of five years, 
from which period it will produce a constant yield of about 
two and a half pounds yearly until it reaches the age of, per- 
haps, forty years. This industry is destined to become one of 
the most important of the agricultural enterprises of Eastern 
Guatemala. If at times the price has ruled low, in the end its 
cultivation is extremely profitable, for it has been estimated 
that if the staple sold on the place for but six cents per pound, 
it would pav 12 per cent on the actual money invested in its 
production. 

The following is a list of the principal merchants and coffee 
growers of Coban. A glance at it will satisfy even the 
most careless observer as to the nationality of these same 
planters and merchants. 

Sarg Hermanos, Duseldorff & Co., Pablo Surra & Co., 
Francisco Pianos, Van JSTostiz & Co., W. A. Duseldorff, D. H. 
Turkheim, D. M. Connell, Henry Littlepage, S. M. Slattern, 
Julius Wolter, Herman Helmrich, L. Castelauo. 

Of these houses, seven are either German or bear German 
names, three are Spanish or native, while but two are English. 

It will be safe to calculate that although two-thirds of the 
products of Central America go to Englaad, two thirds of the 
merchants of the five republics ai-e German or are of German 
descent. 



94 GUATEMALA. 



Notwithstanding these gentlemen are extremely patriotic, 
and at their social gatherings <lriuk dee[)ly to their dear 
" fatherland," they are not so jjatriotic as to send their i)rodLice 
to Germany if they can get a better price for it in England or 
in the United States. 

In their capacity of planters they have to feed many thou- 
sands of laborers, and they need American produce to enable 
them to do so. By conseqaeuce they are very anxious to enter 
into closer trade relations with tlie United States. If the mer- 
chants of New Orleans ignore this promising traffic, those of 
New York and Philadelphia do not. 

Last month three steamers from the former [)ort, ar,d two 
from the latter touched at all the Central American ports, from 
Belize southward along the coast to Costa Eica, while certain 
English ocean tramps regularly take cargo at Livingston. 

As was said before, the giant range of mowntains that sep- 
arate Guatemala into two parts, about e'qua/ly wide, is an 
almost impassable barrier betw^een the two section!? of the Re- 
l)ublic. It will be several years before the enterprise of man 
will unite the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean sea by a rail- 
road. Until the desideratum is accomplished, Eastern and 
Western Guatemala will be virtually separated ; at least com- 
mercially so. Thus the entire commerce of Eastern Guatemala 
is destined to centre at or nearPanzos. From this point com- 
munication with the sea is easy and safe and is rapid, while the 
Government has ordered the construction of large receiving 
warehouses at Port Livingston to accommodate the growing 
couimerce of the locality. 

While New Orleans can put coffee in Philadelphia for ^c, per 
pound, she has made no effort to secure the control of the flour- 
ishing coffee trafBc of Guatemala. The crop this year will 
amount to about 3,500,000 pounds, of which a million pounds 
is consumed in the country, the remainder of which will be 
freighted to Europe, to New York and to California. The 
coffee crop of Alta Paz should seek this market by consequence 
of the contiguity of New Orleans to the producing centre, in 
comparison with New York and Euro])e, for the Crescent City 
is but 900 miles distant from Port Livingston and the latter is 



GUATEMALA. 95 



about 100 miles from the plantations of AltaPaz. Thus New 
Orleans is just 1000 miles distant from the eastern coffee fields 
of Guatemala; l!^ew York about twice as far and England is, 
in round numbers, say, 6000 miles distart. This coffee trade 
should be enjoyed by the merchants of the Mississippi valley, 
and might be, were the dealers in the article to make as sin 
cere efforts to secure it as their Eastern and English rivals do 
to retain it. 

The coffee crop of Central Guatemala is very abundant this 
year. For some time the low price at which this staple has 
luled in Europe and America has had a most depressing effect 
throughout the coffee-producing centres of the^ hemisphere. 
While the planters of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Kica 
and Nicaragua have been constantly losing money for the last 
three years, their more fortunate brethern of Honduras, Gua- 
temala and Mexico have mani:ged to make somewhat more 
than their expenses. In the three last mentioned countries the 
rate of wages for agricultural labor yet rules comparatively 
lew. in Brazil the gradual emancipation of the slaves will, 
doubtless, decrease, the acreage of coffee planting. In Ven- 
ezuela, Colombia, Costa Eica and Nicaragua (all of which re- 
publics are iu direct and constant communication with the 
Isthmus of Panama) the labor market is seriously affected by 
the comparatively high rate of wages paid laborers by the 
Panama Canal Company. This latter enterprise employs thou - 
sands of workmen at an average price of |1 50 per day. Coffee 
planters cannot afford to pay such extravagant prices tor labor, 
and, by consequence, these four republics are experiencing an 
alarming shrinkage in their coffee-producing area. 

Another advantage, beside the low rate of wages that obtains 
in Guatemala, is experienced by the planters of the latter 
country. Its enterprising and enlightened President, Gen. 
Barrios, has several times issued decrees regulating the labor 
supply. Criminals instead of being carefully housed, fed on 
the fat of the land and maintained at government expense, are 
compelled to work on railroad enterprises and plantations In 
a population of 1,500,000 souls are found 950,000 of the work- 
ing class. But this aboriginal race hates to labor for the patri- 



96 GUATEMALA. 



cian caste, and will only work when necessity compels them- 
Gen. Barrios, by suppressing; and enacting severe laws against 
voluntary pauperism, has driven avast number of hitlierto non- 
producers into the coffee groves, the cane and nopal fields and 
the mahogany forests. In rural centres of population the most 
incorrigibly lazy adults are pressed into the army, and the 
rest are compelled to labor in the coffee fields for a certain 
number of days per annum. But while thus rendering labor 
compulsory, the health, well-being, comfort and wages of the 
laborers receive the strict attention of the government, and 
in no case has the just complaint of the wn^rkman against his 
employer been unheeded. The beneficial effect of this legisla- 
tion was remarkably apparent during the last two years. The 
railroad enterprises were at a stand-still for warn ot laborers. 
Hundreds of idle Indians were drafted and put to work on the 
Guatemala Central and Champerico roads- The coffee trees 
were growing wild and neglected; sufficient agricultural la- 
borers were dispatched to the plantations to insure the safety 
of the harvest and the plants. 

Thus the high rate of wages that rules in other coffee-pro- 
ducing centres, and the comparatively low price tliat obtains 
in Guatemala, together with the ample amount of either vol- 
untary or enforced labor disposable, seems to render the future 
success of the coffee producing industry of Guatemala beyond 
question. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Few Wagon Roads and Bad Bridle Paths— Mule and Donkey Pack 
Trains— Unique System of Transportation— The Guatemala Central 
and Champerico Railroads — The Northern Line — The Shea and Cor- 
nick Contract — The Lyman and Gordon Concession — Mahogany 
Cutting — Mining Industry — Manufactures — Future of the Country. 

While there are several fine roads, leading from the capital 
in different directions, they degenerate into mere bridle paths 
at the distance of a few leagues from the city. The road to 
Escuintla is a fair highway; that to Coban was constructed 
at a vast expense. The road to the old cities of Guatemala 
passes through a broken and rugged mountain country. The 
rest of the republic is traversed by mountain and bridle paths- 
The system of transportation employed is naturally slow and 
expensive, pack mules and donkeys being principally employed 
in this industry. 

If, as political economists assert, the prosperity of a nation 
depends upon its cheapness of transportation, Central America 
is far from being a prosperous territory. But the present 
energetic and patriotic ruler of Guatemala, Gen. Barrios, has 
turned his attention to this important problem, and quick and 
cheap passenger and freight transportation has been decreed. 
A few years since he started a subscription to build a railroad 
from the Pacific port of San Jose to the capital. A line was 
eventuallj' constructed from the coast to Escuintla, a distance 
of about twenty-eight or thirty miles. For a long time the 
enterprise hung fire, but about two years ago Messrs. Crocker, 
Stanford and Huntington, of San Francisco, bought the line 
from its original owners and continued it to the capital city. 
This syndicate has entered into arrangements for the construc- 
tion of several other Central American railroads, while the 
principal of their undertakings have their scene of operations 
within the limits of Guatemala and San Salvador. 

About four years since, Messrs. Lyman & Fenner, two enter- 
prising American gentlemen, obtained a concession to construct 



98 GUATEMALA. 



a, line from the. little Pacific port of Cham peri co to the city of 
Eetalhuelan, a distance of some twenty-eight or thirty miles. 
Mr. Bell, a well known Californian banker, provided the funds 
and the Government furnished a liberal subsidy besides a large 
grant of land. If the assertions of the Guatemaltecan states- 
men may be credited, the subsidy, which is being paid with 
the utmost regularity, will cover the entire expenses of con- 
struction. This arrangement, which certainly must meet the 
approval of the owners of the line, seems also to suit the 
Government and the people, for if the former advanced their 
money at a time when Guatemaltecan securities were at a low 
figure, and took what at that epoch seemed a great risk, the 
planters of the Retalhuelan coffee district are contented with 
the simple circumstance of having secured quick and certain 
transportation to the coast. 

Shortly after construction work was commenced on the road, 
Mr. Lyman, for some reason not explained, withdrew from the 
enterprise, which, since that epoch, has continued under the 
sole management of his partner. Dr. D. P. Fenner. 

This little enterprise has proved to be extremely remunera- 
tive to all concerned. Quite a quantity of mixed freight is 
daily shipped at the several stations and numerous passengers 
are constantly traveling between the port of Ohamperico and 
Eetalhuelan. During the coffee season, business is unusually 
brisk, and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company's vessels 
touch at the port once a week. 

It will not be long before this enterprise is extended to the 
capital, for the Government has offered its manager extremely 
liberal terms. Thus another grand agricultural region will 
be opened to commerce and immigration, and flourishing 
plantations, now virtually cut off' from the capital and the sea 
port, will be placed in rapid and regular communication with 
both. 

The golden dream of both the government officials and the 
people in general is to secure rail communication between the 
Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The prolongation of the Gua- 
temala Central from the town of Escuintla to the capital has 
solved the first portion of the problem. No sooner had Gen* 



GUATEMALA. 1)1) 



Barrios made arrangements with the Huntington syndicate 
for the coutinuatiou of the Esouintla branch to Guatemala 
City than he turned his serious attention towards the realiza- 
tion of the remaining part of the plan. After mature deliber- 
ation he determined that all the inhabitants of the Republic 
should bear a portion of the burden, and. that the proposed 
road should be the property of the people as well as of the 
nation. Two years ago he issued a decree which constituted 
each male and female inhabitant of the lv.epublic who earned 
the sura of eight dollars per month a shareholder. Each per- 
son so situated is required to pay $40 in ten years for one 
share, or rather more than four per cent per annum on his or 
her gross earnings. He at once subscribed and paid cash for 
five hundred shares. All of the principal military and civil 
officers followed his example and took as many shares as their 
means warranted. Many who occupied subordinate positions, 
and who took but one share, paid for it at once. All the rest 
are compelled to make quarterly payments of $1 at a time. 

Contrary to the expectations — and perhaps the hopes — of 
the remaining political enemies of the administration, who 
predicted that the promulgation of this, in their eyes, arbi- 
trary and unconstitutional decree, would culminate in a disas- 
trous revolution and the overthrow of the government, the 
measure, instead of rendering Gen. Barrios odious, has, if pos- 
sible, increased his popularity. The merchants of the capital, 
and the planters and land owners whose property lies contig-^ 
uous to the proposed route of the new road, have subscribed 
liberally. The military and civil officials are proud of the 
opportunity offered them of thus sustaining- the project of 
their beloved chieftain ; while the Indian rancheros, store- 
keepers, arriaros, artisans and laborers, whose monthly earnings 
bring them within the limits'of the decree, pay their quarterly 
instalments with the utmost promptness, and seemingly with 
corresponding pleasure, for their vanity is gratified by being 
stockholders in the great undertaking. This new line is 
known as the Northern Eailroad, and the president or mana- 
ger of the concern is the famous Don Angel Pefia, a gentle- 
man whose name has long been looked upon as a synonym for 
honesty and integrity by his fellow citizens. 



100 GUATEMALA. 



The entire cost of the undertaking from Guatemala City to 
the coast, a distance of about 206 miles, was estimated at 
$12,000,000 by the government engineer, Sylvanus Miller, 
Esq., an American gentleman, who for many years has been 
identified with the railroad movement of Central America. 
This engineer has carefully surveyed the country from the 
capital to the coast, and has chosen the definite direction of 
the line. The route runs from Guatemala City in a general 
northeasterly course and strikes the Motagua river at a point 
near Zacapa. From thence it runs to El Mico, not far from 
the hacienda of Gen. Eascon. From this latter point it pro- 
ceeds directly to the coast, and terminates at Port Barrios, 
the site chosen for the eastern terminus. 

Within a few mouths after the decree was promulgated, the 
rapid payment of subscriptions, by the wealthier inhabitants, 
swelled the railroad fund in the coffers of the President to at 
least S500,000,aud bids were asked for the construction of the 
first division of the road, from Port Barrios, on the Caribbean 
coast, to El Mico, a point some sixty-two miles in the interior. 
An American citizen — resident of Guatemala, named Millen, 
entered into a contract with the government for the cojastruc- 
tion of the first division of the road. This gentleman made 
his own terms with the management of the enterprise who ac- 
cepted his figures and specifications without comment. But 
it was soon apparent that Mr. Millen had been remarkably 
unfortunate in his calculations, for the excavation and other 
construction work cost much more than his estimates, and he 
was in a short time compelled to suspend further operations. 
Meanwhile the attention of the well known railroad con- 
tracting firm of Shea, Cornick and Shea, of Knoxville Tenn., 
was drawn to this enterprise. In March, 1884, Mr. Cornick 
and Mr. Tim. Shea, accompanied by the author of this work, 
proceeded to Guatemala city, and assisted by the influence and 
advice of Dr. D. P. Feuner secured a most favorable contract 
for the construction of the first division of the road from Port 
Barrios to El Mico. This work has proceeded very favorably 
up to date. The principal dif&culty encountered by the con- 
tractors has been the labor supply, which is inconstant and not 



GUATEMALA. 101 



oviiT good. They have been compelled to rely principally on 
imported labor, several hundred of negroes having been sent 
to the scene of operations from ]^ew Orleans alone. 

Within a few days after Shea, Cornick & Co. secured their 
contract, and before they had begun their work, the govern- 
ment entered into still another arrangement for the comple- 
tion of the proposed road from El Mico to the capital city, 
with Messrs. Lyman and Gordon of Kew York. The Lyman 
in question is the same gentleman who was interested for a 
period in the Ohamperico railroad, and his partner is the cele- 
brated ex-Oonfederate general, J. B. Gordon. As far as can be 
ascertained, these gentlemen have fulfilled all their preliminary 
engagements with the government, such as filing their bond 
and making surveys,etc., and will soon begin construction work 
at the city of Guatemala. 

There are several other different railroad enterprises spoken 
of in government circles which may soon be undertaken. One 
in particular, although a comparatively small affair, would 
prove very profitable to the parties owning it. The coffee dis- 
trict of old Guatemala city is practically cut off from the coast 
during the rainy months. A line from the destroyed city to 
tap the Guatemala Central would drain this entire district and 
could be constructed at a minimum cost. 

The other important enterprise spoken of is a line to connect 
the port of Belize, British Honduras, with the capital of Gua- 
temala. This road would cut directly west, through the Eng- 
lish Colony, and then taking a general southwesterly direction 
would drain the richest and fairest portion of the country. 
Several well known capitalists have had this matter under con- 
sideration for some time, and but little doubt is entertained 
that when the concurrence of the two governments is obtained 
that the enterprise will be undertaken. 

Even under the present defective transportation system that 
obtains, the republic enjoys a fair domestic and foreign traffic. 
The former may safely be set down at $75,000,000 per annum 
and the latter, in imports and exports at $9,000,000. With 
better wagon roads and the completion of the present projected 
railroad system the general traffic of the republic will increase 



102 GUATEMALA. 



at a rapid ratio, and Guatemala will become one of the most 
prosperous, wealthy and powerful among the Latin American 
sisterhood of nations. 

The republic has never enjoyed as high a reputation for for- 
est products, as either British Honduras, Spanish Honduras, 
or Mcaragua. Yet several parties are now busily engaged in 
mahogany cutting on the banks of the Motagua river. Messrs. 
Ford, Anderson and Owen and the Saarg Brothers have at 
dfferent times shipped large quanties of furniture woods to the 
United States and Europe. 

The fruit planting industry has been treated of in another 
chapter. The government has fostered and protected it and 
has iuvariably assisted indigent persons who have started the 
cultivation of bananas. The principal scene of this industry is 
in the neighborhood of Port Livingston. The vast stretch of 
unoccupied laud along the banks and contiguous to Lake 
Yzabal will eventually be occupied by banaua and sugar plan- 
tations, while the fruit planting industry of Eastern Gruatemala 
fs destined to assume imposing proportions. 

About a year since a Boston syndicate begun the cultivation 
of bananas, plantains and pine-apples on a large scale near 
Port Livingston. Up to date their enterprise has been re- 
markably successful, and hopes are entertained by its sanguine 
j)romoters that they will soon have a large supi)ly of fruit 
ready for shipment. 

Since the epoch of the independence the mining industry of 
Guatemala has steadily declined until within the past five 
years, when the discovery of valuable gold placer deposits on 
the Motagua river and several of its branches gave it a new 
and vigorous impulse. 

During the Spanish regime a vast quantity of gold dust was 
shipped by Guatemala to the mother country, while several 
famous silver mines were also worked. It is now a con- 
ceded fact that numerous valuable silver deposits have been 
discovered and located in the mountains near the Honduranean 
frontier. When the fortunate owners can procure capital to 
work these lodes the district will probably prove a second 
Potosi. Mr. Sanchez, the secretary of treasury, showed the 



GUATEMALA. 103 



author a piece of crude silver that weighed 160 ounces, which 
was the result of a working assay of 2500 pounds of rock taken 
at hap-hazzard from his mine. Competent judges have proved 
this property to be extremely valuable, so Mr. Sanchez pro- 
poses to form a company to work it. 

About sixty miles from Yzabal are situated the rich placer 
mines of the Eio Bobos (a tributary of the Motagua), upon 
which are located the auriferous lands of the Friedman Mining 
Company of ISTew York. The manager, Mr. Edgar Friedniao, 
has opened a good wagon road, seven miles long, and is now 
busily engaged in getting up machinery and in -piping and 
opening the main ditch for his supply of water. On the op- 
posite side of the river are the hydraulic works of Messrs. 
Papadophul, Paximo and Arias. This company bring their 
water in ditches and flumes, a distance of about two miles. 
They have sufficient pressure, and are working very success- 
fully. Adjoining these are the lands of Messrs. T. J. Potts 
and John W. Knight, formerly of Louisiana. These gentle- 
men have had preliminary surveys made preparatory to put- 
ting up hydraulic works on a large scale. Water is plentiful 
and conveniently situated, and it is calculated that the ground 
will yield twenty -five cents of gold dust to the cubic yard. 

The gold extracted is of a very fine quality ; worth about 
S18 40 per ounce troy at the IJuited States Mint. Another 
American syndicate has recently denounced a placer near Lake 
Yzabal. There are also rumors of the discovery of lead and 
mercmy in the same vicinity. These reports, however, as yet 
lack confirmation. 

The republic boasts but few manufactories worthy of the 
name. The principal supplies of textile goods come from Eng- 
land, notwithstanding the fact that American cotton goods, 
particularly calicoes, are highly thought of in Guatemaltecan 
markets. If American manufacturers of this class of goods 
would consult the taste and customs of their purchasers, they 
could not only acquire'the dry goods trade of the republic but 
of all the other Latin American markets as well. 

There are numerous articles of domestic manufacture that as 
yet may be considered as unknown beyond the limits of the 



104 GUATEMALA 



republic. Certain localities furnish fine straw hats, others are 
famous for tule and straw mats, while in others a warm woolen 
cloth is made, which furnishes the poorer classes of the higher 
altitudes warm and comfortable clothing. 

The departments of the interior possess numerous mountain 
streams which can be readily utilized for moving machinery. 
Thus when the manufacturing era — which the numerous nat- 
ural products of the republic indicate will soon be inaugurated 
— dawns upon Guatemala a thousand perennial mountain 
watercourses will furnish a cheap method of manufacturing to 
the future mill kings of the country. 

The author has often been asked if he could conscientiously 
advise American capitalists to invest their money in the devel- 
opment of the forest, the agricultural and the mineral resources 
of this republic in i^articular, and of Central America in gen- 
eral. In answer he has pointed to the different enterprises 
that have been undertaken upon the information imparted by 
him to the interested parties, all of which have up to date, 
proved remarkably successful. These enterprises will neces- 
sitate the eventual employment of several millions of dollars. 
Among them the Shea, Cornick & Co.'s railroad construction 
work, in Guatemala, and the Honduras timber and fruit plant- 
ing companies in Spanish Honduras may be cited as examples. 

As far as the natural resources of Central America are con- 
cerned it is impr ssible to exaggerate their importance or esti- 
mate their value. The cane plantations of Guatemala, average 
a yield of 4000 pounds of crude sugar to the acre. Cotton pro- 
ducts, 1250 pounds of lint fiber to the same area of land, while 
in various localities upland rice returns the grateful planter a 
harvest of 250 barrels for one planted. The steep hill sides 
yield the simple Indian who merely drops the corn in: a hole 
and draws the earth over it with his bare toes, sixty bushels 
per acre, while the fertile valleys return almost fabulous har- 
vests of wheat, rye and other cereals. 

Mr. Hawley, an English traveler who explored the hitherto 
unknown portion of the republic, in the Peteu region, dis- 
covered grand forests of mahoganj^ and tropic cedar, and vast 
stretches of land covered with the valuable Brazil tree. In, 



GUATEMALA. 105 



one of his elaborate political essays, the deceased Guatemal- 
tecan historian. Don Jose Milla, estimated the market value 
of the different classes of furniture wood trees, fit to cut, now 
standing in the primeval forests of .Central America, at the 
vast sum of $700,000,000. This estimate e:xcludes trunks of 
less than fifteen inches in diameter. When the immense quan- 
tity of dye woods and construction timber is added to the 
above estimate, the curious enquirer may manage to conceive 
a faint idea of the great value of the forest productions of this 
fortunate land. 

Of the mineral resources of Central America no just esti- 
mate can be made. Each of the five republics contain almost 
innumerable deposits of gold and silver ore. In some locali- 
ties of Honduras paying placers of silver dust have been 
discovered. In the same republic a majoritj^ of the streams 
and rivers course over beds that are literally impregnated 
with golden particles. Throughout the wide area of the Yoro 
and Olancho Departments it is almost impossible to turn over 
a spade full of earth without finding " color." This assertion 
sounds like a tale of the Arabian Kights, but it is nevertheless 
borne out by stubborn facts. 

If, in several cases, American miners have gone thither and 
have not succeeded, a thousand reasons might be advanced 
to account for their failure. Overflowing with vanity and 
pride; considering themselves superior in all things to th-e 
natives of the country, they imagine they know everything 
and only awake from their delusion when they find that their 
woful ignorance has undone them. They prosecute their w^ork 
in the rain or under the rays of an intense tropic sun, and 
when their reckless exposure culminates in sickness, they 
blame the- climate, but lose sight of their gross imprudence. 
Their failure simply proves their inferiority to their Spanish 
predecessors, who, with less advantages, and by the employ- 
ment of the simplest and most primitive methods, for nearly 
three centuries, forced the unwilling earth and rocks to yield 
rich tributes of precious metals. If, for the first few decades 
of their occupation of the country, the Spanish conquerors 
forced the unwilling natives to work for them, the labor sup- 



106 GUATEMALA. 

ply was soon exhausted, and their successors were generally 
compelled to work with their own hands and amass their for- 
tunes by the sweat of their brow. 

The American emigrant invariably follows the pernicious 
example of the American miner. He wishes to introduce the 
system of farming that obtains in his own country, and often 
fails where his neighbor, a native of the localitj', is rewarded 
for his judicious management by profitable harvests. 

By studying the peculiarities of the climate, and grafting 
certain American farming principles upon the native system 
of cultivation, foreign emigrants, if they are prudent and 
persevering, can scarcely help but succeed. One great draw- 
back to their advancement has been commented upon by the 
natives. As a general thing they reach the scene of their 
future labor almost penniless. Many cases may be cited where 
having planted large areas of sugar cane and cotton, they 
have been unable to harvest their crops for want of means to 
purchase sugar machinery, or to pay for the picking of their 
cotton. 

As far as Guatemala is concerned it seems destined to enjoy 
a brilliant future, under the lule of its able and patriotic Pres- 
ident, Gen. Barrios. It is already the wealthiest and most 
prosperous of the Central American republics. A new genera- 
tion of statesmen, imbued with liberal sentiments and privi- 
leges, has grown up around him ; thus ,when he resigns the 
reins of power, or if death should suddenly strike him in the 
midst of his glorious career, there are many able to succeed 
him and carry out the great work of reform he has so ably 
inaugurated. 

With its immense and valuable forest resources, its salubri- 
ous climate, and remarkable fertile soil; with its numerous 
rich deposits of gold and silver ore, and vast placer dig- 
gings as rich as the auriferous fields of California or Australia. 
Guatemala is destined to command the attention of foreign 
capitalists. Then its fertile soil will be cultivated, its grand 
forests utilized and its valuable deposits of precious metals 
be forced to yield their rich tribute. Thus, wealthy, prosperous 
and happy Guatemala will, before long, assume a proud posi- 
tion among the sisterhood of Latin American JS'ations. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS- 



CHAPTER I. 

The Discovery of Honduras — Colnmbns' Adventurous Voyage — Origin of 
the Name of the Country — The Man Hunters of the Caribbean — 
Destruction of the Aboriginal Inhabitants of the Antilles and the 
Introduction of Natives from the Continent as Slaves. 

Twelve years had transpired since that memorable day, 
October 12, 1492, on which the famous navigator, Cristobal 
Colon, viewed for the first time the shores of the Western 
Hemisphere, 

During these twelve years this extraordinary man had ex- 
perienced all classes of vicissitudes. His life was often en- 
dangered by the tempests of the ocean, or the rage of his 
exasperated companions; while, on the other hand, he had 
been greeted with the praise and distinction of his sovereigns 
and the enthusiastic eulogies of the entire people of Europe, 
upon his return to his native country, after his astonishing 
discovery of a uew world. Later on he was calumniated and 
met with cruel treatment and persecution, which indignant 
public opinion loudly condemned ; while his sovereign, who, 
if he did not authorize these wrongs, gave ground for them 
by the plenary powers with which he invested those who had 
carried them into execution. He afterward rendered the illus- 
trious man tardj^ justice. All these circumstances had tried 
that great soul, but, without for a moment diminishing the 
confidence he entertained in his destiny, which he believed 
yet called him to open new and still unheard of paths of for- 
tune to the human race. 

Although his body was racked by physical sufferings, at 
the advanced age of 76 ^''ears, the admiral started upon his 
fourth and last voyage. He left Cadiz the 9th of May, 1502, 



108 REPUBLTC OP HONDURAS. 

in command of five small vessels, the largest of which was 
scarcely seventy tons' measurement, manned by one hundred 
and fifty adventurers. 

He was accompanied by his brother — the "Adelantado' 
Don Bartolome Colon, an intrepid and experienced mariner 
and a man of excellent Judgment — and his younger son, Don 
Fernando, a mere child in years, but whose tender age was 
supplemented by great strength of mind, which he undoubt- 
edly inherited from his illustrious father. 

A terrible tempest, that Colon had predicted and provided 
against, placed his fragile vessels in imminent danger, when 
off the Island of Santo Domingo, whose Governor, obeying 
the instructions he had received from court, refused an asylum 
in these critical circumstances to him who had years before 
discovered the same island. The storm dispersed and nearly 
destroyed the vessels, and it was some days before they col- 
lected again, at a port on the western coast of Santo Domingo, 
where they were repaired. 

Continuing his journey, the admiral touched at several 
small islands and cays which he had seen on his former voy- 
ages, and on the 30th of July arrived at Guanaja, which he 
named the Isle of Fines. This was the first land discovered 
by the Spaniards in Central America in the sixteenth century, 

Don Bartolome Colon, with some of the crew, having dis- 
embarked on the island, witnessed the arrival of a canoe of 
large dimensions, made of the trank of a single tree. To pro- 
tect its passengers from the sun and rain it had in the centre 
a sort of a cabin, formed of mats. In this enclosure were 
women, children and merchandise. It is supposed that the 
canoe and cnrgo belonged to Indian traders, who had loaded 
it on the coast, a short distance from Yucatan. 

The admiral regarded the people of these islands as much 
more civilized than those of the Antilles, discovered by him 
during his anterior voyages. The fact of their not being- 
frightened or astonished by the Spanish vessels, nor afraid to 
approach the strangers ; their being better dressed than the 
West Indians and the class of goods in which they traded, 
gave force to the admiral's opinion. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 109 



The diary of the historian (or notary) of the expedition,. 
Diego de JPorros, and the narrative of this voyage written by 
Colon for the sovereigns of Spain, are sterile of details, and 
make no meulion of meeting with this canoe. But the inde- 
fatigable historian, Herrera, who, when writing his interesting 
"Decades," had access to the works of the first discoverers 
and conquerors of the New World, says '• that those Indian 
merchants carried copper hatchets, metal plates, and a species 
of crucible in which to fuze metals. They also possessed 
superior arms to those common to the West Indies ; such as 
wooden swords, with canals on the edges of the blades, in 
which were secured sharp, strong pieces of flint, that were held 
in their places by a kind of cement, or else were fastened with 
stout cords. They also had vases and other utensils of earth- 
enware, of marble, and of hard wood ; and sheets, dickies and 
overshirts, without sleeves or collars ; chocolate in abundance, 
corn, yams and other alimentary roots, and likewise a bever- 
age, which, from the description given of it, seems to have 
been a local drink called oMcha.^^ 

Proceeding onward, the squadron reached the main land on 
the 14th of August. The admiral and some of his followers 
landed, and on that day, for the first time, mass was cele- 
brated on Central American soil. This was an event well 
worthy of record, tor it was the commencement of the estab- 
lishment of a new religion, which was to .substitute that false 
and sanguinary worship which for centuries had cursed this 
portion of the planet. That place, which was called, then, 
Caxinas, is the same locality where the port of Truxillo was 
afterward established. 

Against contrary winds the squadron continued advancing 
along the coast, but without going far from it, and anchoring 
at night under its shelter. At fifteen leagues from the point 
of Caxinas a deep river (the Tinto) emptied into the gulf. 
The boats went a short "\yay up it. The admiral landed with 
some of his people. On the 17th of August he raised the royal 
standard of Spain, and took possession of the country in the 
name of the Spanish sovereign. In Caxinas a new religion 
was inaugurated, and at the river Tinto, a domination that 



110 KEPUBHC OF HONDURAS, 

was destined to last three hundred years. These events were 
the points of departure of the civil and religious transforma- 
tion that these countries have since ex[)erienced. 

A number of Indians, who differed from the people of the 
Antilles in language and physiognomj', visited the Spaniards 
at the Possession river (which was the name they then gave 
the Tinto). Neither did these ludians dress alike. Some 
covered half the body, others wore cotton jackets without 
sleeves, and the chiefs cotton caps, either- painted or white. 
Some went entirely naked, but had their bodies covered with 
streaks of paint and figures of animals of divers colors. They 
offered the Spaniards provisions, and in return the latter gave 
them sdme objects of but little worth, but the natives regarded 
them as of great value. 

For many days Colon and his companions coasted that land, 
to which they gave the names of Guayinura, of Hibueras and 
of Honduras, which latter it retains to this day. They called 
itGuaymura because that was the name of an Indian town on 
the coast. Hiburas, on account of having found in the sea a 
great number of pumpkins, called, in Santo Domingo, tribures; 
Honduras, because having sailed a long distance without find- 
ing anchorage, when Dhey came once more upon soundings 
they exclaimed, '' Thank G-od, we have at length passed these 
honduras," {i. e.) deep places. A fearful storm endangered 
the safety of the vessels and the precious lives they carried. 

"The ships were leaking, the sails torn, the anchors, por- 
tions of the rigging, cables, boats- and much provisions were 
lost." Thus the admiral wrote to the sovereigns, adding : 
" Other hunncanes I have seen, but none to last so long, nor 
so terrible." 

The narrative expresses in plain terms the bitterness that 
stirred that grand soul. Kot because the noble old mariner 
thought of his personal peril. The fate of his son, of thirteen 
years, and of his brother, who sailed in the worst of the shi])s, 
and who had, against Oolons's desire, come with him simply be- 
cause of the great affection he bore him, painfully affected his 
spirit. On the other hand, to find himself far from his country, 
soon probably to perish in the solitudes of the ocean, whose 



REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. Ill 

waves tlireateued to sepulchre, from one instant to tlie other, his 
dreams of glory and his hopes of further distinction. He sor- 
rowfully thought of the misfortunes of his family, to whom he 
could not leave eveu a ])oor roof to shelter their heads, and he 
expressed, in his letter to the sovereigns, the confidence (which 
perhaps he did not entertain) that they would restoi-e to his 
eldest son, Don Diego, the honors and the treasures they had 
dispossessed him of. 

Wearied with physical sufferings, unable to rise from his 
bed, he caused a little temporary (;abin to be built on deck, from 
which he directed the movements of the squadron. But the 
danger became so extreme that the sailors confessed to each 
other, and thus prepared for death. 

At length, after a long and weary struggle with the elements, 
on the 12th of September they rounded a cape, the tempest 
calmed, and a fair wind carried the vessels toward the south. 
Colon, overcome with gratitude and religious devotion toward 
the Supreme Being, gave the name of Cabo Gracias a Dios 
(Cape thank Grod), to the point of laud where he experienced 
the favorable change of wind. 

The squadron proceeded along that shore, which afterward 
received the name of the Mosquito coast. The natives called 
it Oariay. Being compelled to obtain wood and water, the 
boats entered one of the several rivers that empty into the 
Gulf. On their return a stiff breeze began to blow. The sea 
rose and dashed against the boats, upsetting one of them whose 
crew was drowned. In memory of this unfortunate event the 
name of '' Disaster " was given to this river by the admiral. 

Notwithstanding the bad condition of the vessels, they slowly 
and with difficulty proceeded, and at length anchored off" a 
small island which the natives called Quiribiri. The Spaniards, 
however, gave it the name of Huerta — orchard — in consequence 
of the numerous fruit trees they found on it. 

The inhabitants of the contiguous coast were greatly fright- 
ened at the sight of the ships and the singular beings aboard 
of them, and made preparations to defend themselv^es. Colon 
managed with great prudence, and endeavored to inspire them 
with confidence. He would not embark that day nor the next. 



112 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



but occupied the time in repairing his vessels, examining' his 
provisions, and resting his worn-out crews. 

The Indians perceiving that the strangers had no intention 
of injuring them, began to make signals of peace, by displaying 
their white cloaks, and eventually swam to the ships, bringing 
with them some cotton cloths, and a few pieces of inferior gold, 
which they offered to the Spaniards, calling it guanin. The 
admiral refused to accept their gifts, but on the contrary wished 
to present them some European articles he thought might 
please them. But the rejection of their presents wounded their 
feelings, and they likewise refused the admiral's offering. The 
next day the Spaniards found on the beach the playthings they 
had given to the Indians strung on a line. 

The natives, however, continued evincing the greatest desire 
to have the strangers, who had so excited their curiosity, come 
on shore, and made various attempts to induce them to do so. 
One day an old man came to the beach, and shook a white flag 
to attract the Spaniards' attention. He was accompanied by 
two young girls, whom he offered as hostages. Colon received 
them on board with kindness; dressed them in European 
clothes, and then returned them to their conductor. On their 
part they were greatly pleased with the welcome they met with. 

At length the admiral, accompanied by some of his people, 
went on shore, but wishing to procure information regarding 
the country, began to question the natives by signs, and or- 
dered the notary to take tlown their answers. But the moment 
the latter brought ont his tablets and made preparations to 
write, the Indians became alarmed, and doubtless attributed 
that operation to witchcraft. They ran away, but quickly re- 
turned with some powders, which they burnt, and waved the 
smoke over the Spaniards. The latter being no less supersti- 
tious than the natives, thought also that the latter were en- 
deavoring to bewitch them. Even Colon, who was so superior 
to his contemporaries, paid tribute to the ideas of his epoch, 
and believed in the supposed witchcraft of the Indians. 

The admiral made excursions into the interior, but without 
finding what he sought — gold. The Spaniards procured only 
some jewels, made of inferior metal, but which were unable to 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 313 

satisfy the avarice of those who had abandoned their country 
and exposed themselves to the greatest dangers to obtain the 
longed-for precious metal. 

In certain of the houses they found corpses. Some were 
embalmed, while others were perfectly preserved in cotton 
cloth and covered- with ornaments. On the boards of which 
the coffins were made, were engraved figures of animals and 
portraits of faces which were pronounced the likenesses of the 
parties interred. 

The admiral, on his departure, carried with him two Indians 
to serve as guides, to the great grief of the people, who sent 
to beg him to return their companions. The admiral suc- 
ceeded in pacifying the messengers, but was not equally suc- 
cessful in calming the alarm of the rest of. the natives. 

The remainder of this last voyage of the great navigator 
took him beyond the limits of Honduras. He soon returned 
to Europe, and died believing that he had merely reached the 
shores of India, He never imagined nor appreciated the vast 
results that were destined to flow from his discoveries. On 
his deathbed he exclaimed with bitterness : '' I have only 
opened the door for others to enter." 

Shortly after their occupation of the principal islands of the 
Antilles, the Spaniards divided the natives among them, and 
reduced the poor unfortunates to the most galling slavery. 

The chieftains were, in some exceptional cases, exempted 
from this fate, but in other instances they shared the same 
destiny as their former vassals, and, urged by the cruel lash 
of their unfeeling task-masters, moistened with their bloody 
sweat the soil that had descended to them as their patrimony 
from many generations of ancestors. 

In a few years the cruelty of their masters, the arduous and 
unceasing labor, from sunrise to sunset, and often later, had 
so thinned their numbers that the Spanish colonists of the 
Antilles were compelled to search elsewhere for more slaves. 
They sent vessels to cruise along the lesser islands and the 
numerous cays that dot the gulf, and in a short while almost 
depopulated them. The discovery of the continent opened a 



114 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



new field tor the enterprise of these man -hunters, and it was 
not long before the^ plowed along its extended coasts, and 
filled their vessels with the shrieking captives whom they 
ruthlessly tore from their families and their beautiful tropic 
homes. 



^ CHAPTER 11. 

Expedition of Pedro de Alvarado into Guatemala— Cortez Sends a Force 
into Honduras — He Journeys Thither by Land Himselt — Conquest 
and Occu,pation of the Country by the Spaniards — Later History of 
Honduras. 
The five fragments of the former Central American republic 
bear such an intimate relation with each other that the his- 
torian will find it almost impossible to compile the history of 
one of these little republics without constantl.y referring- to that 
of the other four. The entire country was conquered by the 
Spaniards about the same time, for the mail-clad soldiers who 
destroyed the Indian natives of Nicaragua and Costa Eica, 
met on the northern confines of the former province their 
fellow-countrymen who had overthrown the aboriginal empires 
and kingdoms of Honduras, Guatemala and Yucatan. 

The conquest of the Aztec empire achieved, Cortez, the 
stern " conquistador," like another Alexander, sighed for more 
worlds to conquer ; but, unlike the " Macedonian madman," 
he did not sigh in vain. For on three sides of his possessions, 
to the north, to the south and to the far west, great kingdoms, 
whose plains groaned under the weight of their rich harvests, 
whose mountains teemed with reins of silver and gold, and 
whose streams, arroyos and rivers coursed over sand impreg 
nated with gold dust, invited his soldiery to invade and pos- 
sess them. 

Scarcely had the dense clouds of smoke that lowered over 
the smouldering ruins of Mexico— the famed island city of the 
Montezumas — been dissipated by the pure breezes that de- 
scended from the adjacent mountains and refreshed the deso- 
lated plains, when the restless and avaricious conqueror sent 
formidable expeditions out in all directions to explore and t® 
conquer the country, in the name and for the glory of Charles, 
the Emperor King of Spain, and to bring the millions of the 
idol- worshipping natives of these terras incognitas to a knowl- 
edge of and an iuheritance in the one church universal. 



116 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



An aruiy of these couquistadoies, uuder the command of 
Pedro de Alvarado, one of the most gallant and chivalrous of 
the captains formed under the eye of that great commander, 
Hernando Oortez, penetrated to the far south, crossed the wild 
jungles, climbed the tall mountains of Chiapas, and passed the 
boundary line which separates that State from the present 
republic of Gautemala. The brave captain was informed of 
great kingdoms which existed to the south of the point he had 
then reached — of kingdoms whose sovereigns iiosKsessed im- 
mense stores of gold, silver and precious stones, and who were, 
in point of riches and power, but little inferior to the powerful 
Mexican monarch, whose empire had been lately overthrown 
and whose capital Jiad been so recently entered, sword in hand, 
by the same ruthless conquering adventurers. 
■ The conquistador immediately retraced his steps and re- 
turned to Mexico. Here he obtained the necessary authority to 
raise a suiiicient force to conquer these powerful Indian king- 
doms. So with the title of captian general and governor of 
countries he should discover, conquer and occupy, he started 
on his adventurous journey, nor was it long before he had over- 
come the Indian nations who vainly attempted to arrest his 
progress. After a series of sanguinary combats and battles, 
he reduced the greater part of that territory which is known 
as Guatemala, and also a portion of Honduras, to subjection to 
the crown of Spain. 

In the meantime Oortez himself had sent an expedition along 
the coast, southward from Vera Oruz, to colonize and conquer 
that section of Centra] America at present known as Spanish 
Honduras. ' After a series of adventures, the commander of 
the expedition planted his colony and then sent expeditions into 
the interior to explore and conquer the country. As usual,, 
the brave and reckless but mail-clad soldiers of Spain prevailed 
over the naked hordes of Indian patriots who sturdily at- 
tempted to bar their progress, nor was it long before the colony 
and province of Honduras was added to the already vast Amer- 
ican possessions of Spain. 

From that period, until the cry of independence resounded 
over the mountain tops and careered over the wide plains of 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. ^ 117 



Spanish America, the enslaved Indian peoples who were sunk 
into the depths of hopelessness and despair, toiled in the mines 
or cultivated the fertile lands for the descendants of the ra- 
pacious conquerors. Millions of the indigenes were swept 
away by the small-i)ox and other terrible diseases introduced 
into their country froni Europe. Millions more tell under the 
keen swords and the sharp lances of the " conquistadores " 
during the wars of the conquest, but millions more wore away 
their weary lives in the mines that were hidden deep in the 
bowels of the tall mour.tains, or patiently wasted away on the 
cane, and indigo fields, under the burning sun that shone down 
apou the plains from a cloudless tropical sky. 

But after three centuries of oppression and^cruelty the^cry 
of independence, raised by the intrepid priest, Hidalgo,|in 
Mexico, 1810, was wafted over the provinces of Oaxaca and 
Chiapas, and fell upon the ears of the long-suffering and en- 
slaved Indians and lialf-castes of Central America. It was also 
gladly welcomed by the indignant Creoles, who, if they indi- 
vidually loved their Spanish fathers, hated the Spanish race 
with an intensity equalled only by the indigenes, who had three 
long centuries of sanguinary oppression to avenge. The result 
of the struggle is well known. 

The revolted colonies eventually gained their liberty. All 
Central America was united under one government, and the 
Kepublic of Central America took its i)lace amoung the nations 
of the earth. 

But in 1838 the nobles and the clergy succeeded in over 
throwing the Liberal party, and the republic was destroyed. 
It separated into five parts, which are to-day known as the 
republics of Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, JSTicaragua 
and Costa Rica. 

Until within a comparatively recent date Spanish Honduras 
was the least known and mentioned of the several fragments 
which comprise that geographical division known as Central 
America. 

Upon the disintegration of the republic, each fraction es- 
tablished a separate government. Then the Honduraneans 
founded their little republic, which is comprised within the 



118 * REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

following limits : It is bounded on the north by Guatemala 
and the Caribbean sea, on the east by the latter, on the south 
by the Eepublic of Nicaragua, Pacific ocean and theEepublic 
of Salvador, and on the west by Guatemala and Salvador. 
It contains 48,000 square miles and a population of about 
500,000 souls. The two principal cities are Comayagua and 
Tegucigalpa. The latter, since 1880, has been declared the 
capital of the country. It contains about 13,000 inhabitants. 

The republic is divided into twelve departments, each of 
which is under the jurisdiction of a Governor. The names of 
the departments are as follows : Copan, Gracias, Santa Bar- 
bara, La Paz, Comayagua, Yoro, Colon, or Mosquitia, Olancho, 
El Paraiso, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Islas de Bahia (Bay 
Islands). 

Honduras enjoys a liberal republican government, which 
was established and carried into effect by the late President 
of the republic. Lie. Marco A. Soto. In the year 1876 this 
gentleman was chosen by the people of Honduras to re-estab^ 
lish the government. He assumed the functions of provisional 
President at Amapala, on the 27th of August. In the year 
1880, after having restored peace and prosperity to the country, 
he was elected constitutional President, which position he 
held until ill health compelled his resignation in August, 1883. 

The present constitution ot the republic is one of the most 
liberal and perfect that ever emanated from human wisdom. 
The articles which may be deemed interesting to Americans 
are in whole or in part as follows : 

Honduras* should be considered as a portion of the disinte- 
grated republic of Central America j in consequence, it recog- 
nizes the duty and urgent necessity of returning to a union 
with the other separate fragments of said republic. * * * 

Art. 2. The Honduras nation is a sovereign, free and inde- 
pendent republic. 

Art. 6. The Constitution guarantees to all the inhabitants 
of the republic, natives or strangers, the inviolability of human 
life, individual security, liberty, equality and rights of prop- 
erty. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS, 119 

Art. 7. The republic recognizes the guarantee of the habeas 
corpus. 

Art. 8. The slave that treads the soil of Honduras shall be 
forever free. Traffic in slaves is a penal offense. 

Art. 10. Before the law, neither privilege of caste nor class 
can exist. 

Art. 13. All foreigners possess equal privileges, and shall 
enjoy the same civil rights as the Honduraneans. By conse- 
quence they can buy, sell, locate, exercise industries and pro- 
fessions, possess all kinds of property, and dispose of it 
according to law ; visit with their ships the ports of the 
republic and navigate in its seas a,7id. rivers. They are exempt 
from extraordinary contributions (or forced loans), and are 
guaranteed entire liberty of conscience. They may erect 
churches and establish cemeteries in any place in the rebublic. 
Their matrimonial contracts cannot be invalidated by not being 
in conformity with the religious requirements of any sect or creed. 

Art. 16. Service in the army is obligatory. Each Hondu- 
ranean, between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years is 
considered a soldier of the active army, and each fi"om thirty- 
five to forty years of age a soldier of the reserve. Naturalized 
citizens are exempted from military service for ten years. 

Art, 24, The State considers it a sacred duty to foment 
and protect public instruction in all its diverse branches. 
Primary instruction is obligatory, is secular and is gratis. * 
* * No minister of a religious sect shall be permitted to direct 
any school or college maintained by the State. 

Art. 26. The navigation of the rivers of the republic is free to 
all flags. *■ 

The government is divided into three branches — the execu- 
tive, the legislative, and the judicial. 

The executive power is exercised by a citizen who is styled 
the President of the Republic. He must be a native of Cen- 
tral Am erica, *Df thirty years of age, and must be in i)ossessiou 
of all the rights and privileges of citizenship at the time of 
his election. He is chosen by the popular vote. The term of 
office is for four years. He is eligible to re-election, but can- 
not be chosen for a third official period until a lapse of four 
years from the termination of his second term of office. 



120 REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. 

The members of the Cabinet have the power to be preseut 
at the sessions of Congress and to take part in the debates 
but have no vote. They are compelled to answer any ques- 
tion put by a member regarding any subject that comes with- 
in the jurisdiction of Congress, excepting in matters relating 
to foreign telations and war when the President considers 
secrecy necessary. 

The legislative branch of the government is invested in a 
single chamber of deputies, or representatives, in the National 
Congress. This body possesses somewhat similar functions 
to the combined powers of the Senate and Congress of our 
country. One deputy should be elected to represent every 
ten thousand inhabitants, but as the congressional districts 
have not yet been declared, each depg.rtment elects three rep- 
resentatives, excepting the Bay Islands, which is allowed but 
one. 

Congress may transact business provided three-quarters of 
the whole body, which constitutes a quorum, are present. A 
simple majority determines the resolution of a question. Each 
member of Congress is inviolable, and at no time, either in 
the present or in the future, can be called to account for ideas 
written or spoken by him in the course of his duty. 

This constitution was promulgated on the first of December, 
1880. The executive and the governors of the departments 
have earnestly endeavored to carry out its provisions, and 
have so well succeeded that peace, prosperity and the partial 
development of the resources of the republic have attended, 
their patriotic efforts. 

Upon the resignation of President Soto, Gens. Bogran and 
Delgado and Mr, Arias were candidates for the high office he 
was compelled to vacate. The elections were held for three 
consecutive days. Out of 45,000 votes cast, G-en. Luis G-- 
Bogran received 42,000 ; the remaining 3000 being about 
equally divided between his two competitors. 

Gen. Bogran enjoys the reputation of being one of the most 
gallant and skillful soldiers Central America has produced 
since the death of Morozan. At an early age he entered the 
military service of his country, and during the interminable 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 121 



civil wars that have devastated Hoiidaras, took part in many 
combats and battles. He is but 36 years old and has been in 
public service twenty years. 

Although he has tilled the executive chair but little more 
than a year, he has already inaugurated and carried out sev- 
eral important measures of reform. If he lives until the end 
of his term of office, he will have accomplished more to bring 
about the complete regeneration of his country than any of 
his predecessors. 



CHAPTER III. 

Houduras the Eden of Central America— The Extreme Fertility of the 
Eastern Slope— Healthy Climate — Admirable Stock Raising Country 
—Dry Appearance of the Western Regions — Monutains Rich in Silver 
and Gold Ore — Imports, Exports, etc. 

The famous traveler and scientist, Baron von Humbolt, re- 
marked that Mexico was the garden of the world, but that the 
province of Valladolid (the State of Michoacan) was the Eden 
of Mexico. If the great geographer was right, then Hondu- 
ras, which in many respects resembles Michoacan, may justly 
merit the appellation of the Eden of Central America. 

The republic is about two hundred miles wide. Its entire 
northern coast is bathed by the generally placid waters of 
the island-dotted Caribbean sea, while a small portion of its 
southern and western limits are washed by the long rolling- 
billows of the Pacific ocean. For a few leagues from the coast, 
on either side, the laud is low, and, in some places, marshy 
and damp. Here lurk the fever germs, which very often 
attack the traveler. But the fevers of the coast are 
easily cured and are but seldom fatal. With the adoption of 
slight precautions, combined with temperance in eating and 
drinking, the foreigner trbm a colder climate is seldom 
troubled more than once by the insidious disease, and then 
the attack is usually very light. 

At a distance of about fifty miles from the northern coast 
the land gradually begins to rise, and the traveler soon reaches 
an altitude where the soft zephyrs which sigh amid the foliage 
of the plantain, palm and cocoanut groves are met by and are 
tempered by the cool fresh breezes which almost constantly 
blow down from the adjacent mountain tops. A few miles west 
and south from San Pedro Sula the rank dense vegetation of 
the tropics ceases, and gives place to the arboreal exuberance 
of the semi-tropics. In this hapijy locality fevers are but sel- 
dom known, while the various pulmonary diseases that are at 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 123 



present makiug such ravages in the homes of our own 
country are never experienced by the Honduraneans of 
the interior. The word consumption is not found in the 
"medica" of Honduras, while bronchitis, diphtheria and rheu- 
matism have never yet been heard ot by the healthy natives 
of the republic. 

At Sehuatepeque, some thirty miles northeast of Coma 
yagua — the ancient capital of the republic — the climate is 
cool, refreshing and bracing. The wide plain of the same 
name is inclosed by tall mountains, which are covered to their 
summits with a rich growth of pine, larch and oak forests. 
The sides of these mountains, in many spots, are singularly 
fertile, and produce admirable crops of corn, barley, wheat 
and rye, while the valley beneath groans under the weight 
of profuse crops of cotton, sugar cane and coffee. 

The topography of Honduras presents a scene as broken 
and as diversified as is witnessed in the Island of Jamaica. 
In fact, the greater part of the territory of the republic is cor- 
rugated by the numerous spurs into which the great mountain 
range of the continent is here divided. Huge hills and tall 
mountains inclose thousands of beautiful, fertile and pleasant 
little valleys, which are covered, during the rainy season and 
several of the months that follow it, by a rich carpet of nutri- 
tious grass, which provides subsistence to thousands of fat 
cattle. 

When the extreme heat of the tropic sun parches the grass 
and literally kills it, the copious dews that fall on the moun- 
tain slopes moisten vast patches of a species of wild Gruinea 
grass, which is also very good food for cattle. During periods 
of drouth, when even the dcAvs cease to fall, and when all 
classes of vegetation seem to gradually disappear, the cattle 
find a sufficient and an excellent kind of nourishment among 
the undergrowth that flourishes in the grand primeval forests. 

For nature seems to have showered its richest blessings 
upon this glorious countrj^ and has produced an infinite vari 
ety of shrubs, plants and trees that sustain animal life equally 
as well as grass. There is one tree in particular, vulgarly 
called by the people the horse tree, whose foliage fattens cattle 



124 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

and other stock even better than the best gras§ or corn. The 
preservation and increase of the number of these singular 
trees has always been considered of paramount consequence 
by the government, therefore the destruction of a single speci- 
men is punished by a rigorously enacted fine of three dollars. 
Thus, notwithstanding the constantly recurring drouths that 
afflict the republic by consequence of the absolute neglect of 
irrigation and the culpable ignorance of the. natives of the 
simplest laws that govern agriculture, the cattle of the inte- 
rior never suffer for want of food, and even during the most 
protracted drouth present a fat and sleek appearance. 

The country to the north and east of Tegucigalpa^ — the 
capital of the republic — is extremely well watered. The 
various mountain -spurs contain numerous springs, which flow 
down their sides, and, as they near the plains, aggregate and 
form rushing torrents of pure cold water, which fall tumbling 
and foaming into the valleys below. Thus the irrigation of 
the plains and valleys is not only practicable, during the dry 
seasons, but is extremely feasible; while thousands of eligible 
sites are presented for the erection of saw, grist and stamp 
mills in every one of the mountain districts of the country. 

To the south of Tegucigalpa, after the tourist has'crossed 
the high mountain range that environs the capital, he descends 
into a long irregular valley which reaches to' the^coast. This 
locality presents a different aspect than is witnessed in the 
northern districts. Perennial streams and rivers are few and 
far between, while none of the so-called rivers are navigable 
during the dry months; in this season the mountains present 
a brown and parched appearance; but few of the trees which 
grace the plains retain their foliage, while the ground is arid 
and drj^, and in many places cracked wide open. These fissures 
occur often and render traveling over the plains very danger- 
ous after nightfall, in case the tourist should wander from the 
road. 

Yet this very soil which presents such a parched aspect, is 
remarkably fertile and productive. Could the inhabitants 
rely upon a fairly wet season they would ask no further favor 
from providence. The few months of rain would mature their 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 125 



crops to such a tle^Tce that they would ripen almost as soon 
as the dry season sets iu. But, uDtbitunately, the rainy season 
is often retarded, while, frequently, scarcely enough rain falls 
to quicken the grass into growth. Then the inhabitants suffer 
for want of a sufficiency of corn — the sttiple cereal — while the 
lack of pasture endangers the well-being of the cattle. 

But the mountains that divide Honduras, on the Pacific 
slope, are remarkably rich in metal bearing ore, principally 
silver. There are nnmerous valuable mines in the neighbor- 
hood of Tegucigalpa, some of which are, even now, being 
worked in a somewhat primitive manner. Thus, while nature 
has prevented this locality from developing- into a profitable 
agricultnral region, she has been prolific of other gifts. The 
climate, up to a short distance of the coast, is healthy. The 
forests abound with valuable woods, and the mountains groan 
under their burden of i)recious inetals. 

While the northern and southern coasts abound in precious 
woods, such as mahogany, cedar, vera, san jy.au, rosewood, 
ebony, sandal-wood, an infinite number of different kinds of 
]ia]m trees, etc., the interior, where the land attains an altitude 
of from 3000 to 8000 feet above the level of the sea, produces 
all the various kinds of timber that are found in the more 
temperate regions of this hemisphere. Live oak forests are 
common in the semi tropic zone, while the huge proportions 
of the trees and their rough, gnarled branches indicate their 
value as ship-building material. « 

The pine forests which adorn the mountain and hill sides of 
the temperate and the cold zones are equal to any found in 
our own country. In fact, they cover the principal portion of 
the republic. The trees are large and tall, and are, in many 
cases, near to the winding branches of the Ulua, Blanco and 
Ohamilicon rivers. 

From the accessibility of Honduras to the great lumber 
marts of Mexico, the West Indies, and South America, it is 
evident that the manufacture of lumber in this country is 
destined to become a very important Honduranean industry 
in the very near future. Already these vast virgin ijine forests 
have begun to attra the attention of foreign capitalists. 



126 REPUBLIC OP HONDUR'AS. 



The great drawback to the progress and the prosperity ot 
Honduras has hitherto been the total lack of cheap trauspcr 
tatiou between the ports and the cities of the interior. The 
country is so mountainous that the principal roads are mere 
bridle-paths, over which the imports and exports are carried 
on muleback at vast expense. It costs at least |100 a ton to 
transport freight from Puerto Cortez to Tegucigalpa, a distance 
of 175 miles. 

In 1876 the country could not boast a single mile ol tele- 
graph. To-d^iY the principal ports on either ocean are united 
to the capital by iron wires, and 1800 miles of telegraphs en- 
able the government to communicate with the most remote 
limits of the country. 

The ancient Spanish system of jurisprudence obtains in Hon- 
duras. Government has improved all branches of the judiciary 
and has issued the following codes : The civil and jjenal ; the 
laws that govern mining and commerce; the military code ; 
regulation of public instruction and the code custom duties. 

There existed no army nor regular military organization. 
Recruits were brought to the barracks in bonds, and were 
forced to serve at the dictation of each petty chief. Dreading 
the anarchic period that obtained prior to August, 1876, a com- 
plete military system has been organized and the republic to- 
day can call to arms a fairly disciplined army of 41,992 men. 
This JSTational Guard is a guarantee for public peace and in- 
terior tranquility. Th^ republic also possesses sufficient ele- 
ments of war for the defense of her rights and her territory. 

The establishment of the postal service on a firm basis was 
one of the late President's principal eiibrts of reform. He suc- 
ceeded in carrying it into effect. Honduras was the first re- 
public of Central America to enter into the postal union. The 
constitution of 1880 may be justly considered as one of the 
most liberal and progressive documents ever submitted to a 
people. 

The public school system is remarkably efficient and ijrac- 
ticai. ^Notwithstanding the fact that the last famine affected 
the attendance of pupils at the schools, the government in 1881 
sustained 356 boys' schools, and in 1882 440; in 1881 110 girls' 



EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 127 

schools, and in 1882, 133; in 1881, 13,463 boys attended school 
in 1882 15,720; in 1881 the girls's schools numbered 3852 pupils, 
and in 1882 4430. 'The expense attending these effoi-ts in 1881 
amounted to $63,940 and in 1882 $73,646. 

During the past and the present administration several for- 
eign companies have invested quite large amounts of capital 
in various enter])rises connected with mining and agriculture. 

During the era of peace brought about by the triumph of 
liberal principles, the agricultural interests; have'greatly im- 
proved both in system and value,lwhile all other industries 
have progressed to such a degree that the future development 
of the country seems to be secured. 

Commerce, both in importation and exjjortation, has won- 
derfully increased during the last five years. The last six 
months of the year 1882 the imports at Amapala reached 
1401,453, and the duties collected amounted to $182,660. The 
exports were $162,964, and the export duties $1691. In Sep- 
tember and October of the same year the imports at Truxillo 
amounted to $118,211, and the duties to $8391. The exporta. 
tion during the same months reached $245,755, and the expor- 
tation duties to $31,379. A.t Puerto Cortez and Omoa, from 
March to IS^ovember, the imports reached $422,247, and the 
duties to $85,650. At the same ports for the same period the 
exports amounted to $542,751, and the export duties to $9060. 

The domestic or interior commerce of the country may amount 
to $20,000,000 per year while its foreign traffic — imports and 
exports combined — will reach to about $4,000,000 ; thus the 
entire.traflic of the republic^ill aggregate $24,000,000 per an- 
num, or to almost $50 per capita. This may be considered as 
a very small estimate, for even the veriest drone in the great 
national hive will certainly earn and spend that sum per an- 
num, while many thousands, of course, gain and expend much 
more. 

Some idea of the anomalous condition of this traffic may be 
derived from a presentation of the fact that in a particular lo- 
cality a fine steer or fat cow will not sell for more than $6 or $8, 
while some leagues distant the same cattle are worth from $12 



128 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

to $15 per liead. A good beef bide sells for from $1 to $1 20 
at Santa Barbara ; at Seguatepeque for eighty cents, but at the 
coast the article will readilj^ bring from S3 to $3 50. 

While much of this stagnation of traffic may be attributed 
to the total lack of good roads, and the consequent high rate 
of freight tariff which obtains between the centres of produc- 
tion and the ports of the coast, no small part of the blame must 
be attached to the people themselves, who have never made 
any very serious attempts to improve their highways. Many 
of the mountain paths might be made more practicable. This 
subject has, however, attracted the serious attention of Gen. 
Bogran, the present enlightened President of the republic, who 
has called upon Congress to provide ways and m'eans for the 
establishment of a better system of public highways. 

Honduras boasts of but one small railroad of which a descrip- 
tion will be given in another chapter. Several lines, however, 
are projected. Certain New Orleans parties have obtained 
from the President a franchise to construct a railroad from 
Puerto Cortez along the coast to Truxillo. This projected line 
will open a vast region to commercial and agricultural enter- 
})rise. 

The people of Honduras, of whom a moiety are pure Indians, 
are extremely hospitable and do not appear to entertain that 
jealous sentiment toward foreigners so common to the Latin 
American people. The better class are intellectual and are as 
a rule finely educated. "Most of them have traveled extensively 
in Europe and the United states, and are consequently zealous 
promoters of all projects which have for their purpose the de- 
velopment of the vast natural resources of their country. 

The Indians of the interior are a pure and unmixed race. 
They are peaceful and docile and are excellent laborers. They 
possess intellectual faculties of a high order, as no few of the 
lawyers and statesmen of the country are of that race. Under 
the present efficient and liberal public school system the status 
of the Indian people is being gradually improved, while in all 
localities where it is possible to do so, primary schools for the 
education of children have been established. 



REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 129 

On either coast tlie people are more mixed. In many local- 
ities a new race has been created by the inter-marriages of the 
blacks and Indians. The mingling- of the whites with this 
unique race instead of improving seems to deteriorate it. In 
a few generations this miscegenated stock dies out, for the males 
are weak and sickly, and the females, as a general case, give 
birth to unhealthy offspring. Colonies of Caribs — so called — 
are established at different points on the Caribbean coast, while 
to the eastof Truxillo, Zambos, Mestizos and Mosquito Indians 
are the principal Inhabitants of the country. 

Although the Honduraneans claim to be Roman Catholics, 
they by no means seem to constitute religion a serious busi- 
ness of their existence. The principles of liberalism have swept 
over the republic, and, to say the least, the better class are 
remarkably liberal in their religious sentiments. The priests 
possess but little influence, are not overwell paid and do not 
seem to be so universally respected as their caste was under 
the Spanish and Conservative regimes. Some parishes have 
been entirely abandoned, while the rural churches, as a general 
case, present a dilapidated appearance. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Puerto Cortez and its Suirouudings — Fine Situation -Placer Gold Dijr- 
gings Near Omoa — The Fruit Planting Industry— The Pacific Sea- 
port of Amapala — The Grand Gulf of Fonseca — The People of the 
Pacific Slope — The luteroceanic Railroad. 

The beautifal and spacious harbor of Puerto Cortez derives 
its name from the celebrated Hernando Cortez, the conqueror 
of the Indian empire of the Montezumas. 

lu the year 1524 a Spanish adventurer, named Gil Gonzales 
de Avila, set sail from the Island Santo Domingo, armed with 
authority from the good monks, to whom the Emperor Charles 
Y. had given jurisdiction in such matters, to pacify and con- 
quer the heathen i)eople who inhabited the tierra firme. A 
favorable breeze wafted his little squadron safely over the 
long rolling billows of the gulf and the placid waters of the 
Caribbean sea, and after some days of pleasant navigation he 
sighted the high mountains of Spanish Honduras. In a few 
days he anchored in a wide bay, whose southern shore was 
lined with pretty little Indian towns, that were surrounded 
with luxuriant plantain, banana and mango groves. 

During the following night some of his horses sickened and 
died. When the tide receded he threw their carcasses over- 
board for fear the Indians of the vicinity, who were in deadly 
fear of those animals, should discover that they were mortal, 
and afterwards hold them in less esteem. This circumstance 
impressed the conqueror's mind so profoundly that he gave 
the bay the name of Puerto Caballos, or Port of the Horses. 
Gil Gonzales deemed the loss of these animals such an evil 
omen that he refused to form a settlement in the localitj^ and 
left the bay next day. He sailed farther on to the Cape of 
Tres Puntas, or Manibique, where he established a colony, to 
Avhich he>gave the name of San Gil de Buena Yista. 

A few years after this occurrence the conqueror, Hernando 
Cortez, vv^ho went to Honduras for the purpose of chastising 
his rebellious lieutenant, Cristobal de Olid, explored that port 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 131 

whicli was so distasteful to Gil Gonzales. His quick, military 
eye at once noted its superior advantages as a harbor, and he 
gave orders for the establishment of a town, which he marked 
out himself, near the site now occupied by the village of Oien- 
eguita. From that date the Spanish colonists have called the 
harbor Puerto Gortez, thus ignoring the name given it by Gil 
Gonzales. 

This fine bay is wide and long. At the further end a lagoon 
runs to the westward and almost connecrs with the river Cha- 
melicon. In fact, it may not be long before a short canal will 
be cut from the river to the lagoon. If this is accomplished, 
another cutting about three miles long would connect the river 
Uloa with the Chamelicon. The two canals would bring 
the entire country, watered and drained by these two long 
rivers, in direct communication with the town and harbor of 
Puerto Cortez, thus cutting off the ugly bars .at the mouths 
of those waterways, which are at times absolutely impassable. 

As the steamer enters the bay the laud to the right hand is 
low and flat, and is covered with numerous detached groves of 
cocoanut trees. Some distance around the right hand point, 
which is washed by the Caribbean, is siluated the town of 
Omoa, which was, during the Spanish regime, strongly forti- 
fied. A large castle was constructed for the purpose of pro- 
tecting the roadstead, while several water-batteries were erect- 
ed whose fires flanked the harbor. Behind this town, a short 
distance into the interior, are several well known placer mines 
which were worked, but not exhausted, by the Spaniards at 
intervals for more than 250 years. 

If we may give credence to the tales of certain Carib fruit 
cultivators, the Spaniards, notwithstanding their thirst for 
gold, passed by or neglected large areas of auriferous earth in 
this vicinity, which now lie waiting capital and enterprise to 
develop them. The true reason the placers were not worked 
more vigorously may be attributed to a want of labor. The 
Spaniards tasked their Indian slaves to such a degree that 
they rapidly decreased in number. Thus only the most pro- 
lific gold lands were worked from the era of the first conquer- 
ors down to the epoch of the independence of the country. 



132 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

The flat land noticed on the right hand, as the traveler en- 
ters the harbor, is remarkably fertile, as well as very easy to 
work. Within the past three years the fruit-planting Industry 
has received a vigorous impulse from the regular communication 
established between Puerto Oortez and I'J'ew Orleans through 
the medium of theMacheca and other lines of steamers. Each 
month the supply of fruit is greater than the one preceding, 
for the people are constantly planting. So the steamers and 
the numerous schooners that frequent the port, can now count 
on full cargoes of bananas each trip. 

It is reported that parties at Oieneguita have lately set out 
many thousands of cocoanut trees, while others have gone quite 
extensively into rubber and cacao planting. There is no 
reason why these branches of agriculture should not be estab- 
lished in this vicinity, for it is a well known fact that exten- 
sive cacao plantations are being laid out at or near Port Liv= 
ingston. Guatemala, and that many thousand rubber trees have, 
within the last three years, been planted at San Pedro Sula. 

Almost directly opposite Puerto Cortez, but separated from 
it by the entire width of the harbor, is situated the pretty little 
native village of Cieneguita. This place is fast assuming im- 
portance as a fruit producing centre. One negro planter is 
now cutting at least 1000 bunches per month ] that is to say he 
furnishes each of the Macheca steamers 500 bunches per trip. 

The fruit is cut green, and is generally brought off to the 
vsseles in dories or dugouts. Some of these boats are quitelarge 
and will carry 100 bunches. The majority of them, however, will 
not bear more than twenty-five or thirty. Many of the Ladinos 
and Oaribs at this place have little banana patches, and sell 
the steamers from five to fifty bunches per tri}>. Occa'^ionally 
steamers from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore run into 
the harbor and purchase cargoes. If a Macheca steamer hap- 
pens to be in port at the same time the price of fruit advances, 
for the latter vessels canuot afford to lose time and are com- 
pelled to load quickly. Some pineapples and cocoanuts are 
purchased each trip by the regular line from the iruit producers 
of this place. 

Messrs. A. Mueller & Oo,, also do a thriving fruit traffic with 
this port. Notwithstanding the many cocoanut trees that line 



REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 133 



the shore of the harbor, but little, comparatively speaking, of 
this fruit is exported. Most of the existing trees are old, while 
those which bear, yield small and very inferior fruit. But if, 
as is reported, the people of the coast are actually planting 
cocoauiit groves, in eight or ten years the exportation of this 
class of fruit will assume considerable importance. 

The laud, from Cieneguita around the shore to the lagoon, 
situated near the head of the bay, is also extremely fertile. 
The greater part of it has been pre-empted by the enterprising 
Ladinos and Caribs of the locality. 

The little town of Lagoona is the largest place in the harbor. 
It contains about 1200 inhabitants, and possesses quite a num- 
ber of wooden edifices. The majority of the houses, however, 
are built in the usual style of the country and are heavily 
thatched with ]3alra leaves. The stranger who enters one of 
these dwellings will be surprised at the number of places where 
daylight shines through the roof, and doubtless will sympa- 
thize with the occupants during the rainy season, yet from 
some undiscovered reason, the water never, even during the 
heaviest and longest rains, penetrates through the openings. 
Some of these thatches are three feet thick ; a completely new 
one will last for five years without needing repairs. 

Notwithstanding tlie dry and combustible materials these 
houses are made of, and the careless maunerthe occupants use 
fire, it is but seldom conflagrations occur. The traveler who 
cros'ses the continent from this port to the Pacific may see on 
his route some ruined or deserted huts, but it is seldom the 
charred remains of one of them meets his sight. 

Puerto Cortez, the little town where the railroad depot and 
the government customhouse are situated, is located on the 
north or left hand side of the harbor, as the traveler enters 
the bay. It contains about 800 inhabitants and extends along 
a sandy neck of land, which is but a few yards wide. Indeed, 
the houses on the left of the railroad track are often in danger 
of being overflowed during the wet season by the water that 
floods the bayou which leads from the lagoon. Yet, strange 
to say, although the water in the marsh, back of the town, 
stagnates during the dry months, Puerto Cortez is remark- 



134 REPUBLIC! OF HONDURAS. 

ably healthy. While the caleuturas and chills and fever are 
prevalent at Oieneguita and the villages across the harbor, 
this little hamlet is comparatively free from both. 

The villa of Puerto Cortez is the head of the municipality, 
and the other towns of the vicinity are tributary to it. It is 
the residence of the collector of the port, who also controls the 
custom-house at Omoa, of the jefe politico, of the justice of the 
peace, of the postmaster and the other members of the munic ■ 
ipality. The principal business firms areDeBrot, P. Arnoux, 
W. C. Merrilles, Chas. Carou, G. Collier and J. Tolaso. The 
well known and esteemed Mrs. Berard keeps the Washington 
Hotel, which institution is deservedly very popular with 
travelers. 

The railroad edifices were once quite imposing. But all of 
them, the locomotive and repair shops, have become dilapi- 
dated from the eftects of time and lack of care. 

The total import and export trafiic of Puerto (3ortez will 
aggregate somewhat more than Sl,200,000 annually. The im- 
ports are machinery, Western produce, cotton goods, hard- 
ware and general articles of merchandise. The principal 
exports are tropic fruits, sarsaparilla, hides, rubber, mahog- 
any, cedar, rosewood,eboDy, dye woods, etc. 

The exports of precious woods will undoubtedly increase 
greatly within the next twelve months, by consequence of the 
wood-cutting privileges President Bogran has granted Ameri- 
can companies. The fruit planting industry is in such a pros- 
perous condition that a remarkable augmentation in the in- 
crease of the exportation of tropic fruits may also be relied 
upon. Puerto Cortez is at present the principal port of the 
republic, as its import and export traf&c is now greater than 
that of Amapala on the Pacific coast. 

Tela, an important fruit producing centre, will soon be de- 
clared a port of entry. The principal business firm and fruit 
jjlantiug corporation, the Honduras Fruit Company, is not 
only doing a fine general traffic, but is cultivating a vast 
banana plantation. Mr. Chas. Mills, of Grand Rapids, Mich., 
is the president of the syndicate and its business manager at 
Tela. 



ItEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. • 135 

While there are several flourishing fruit planting localities 
on the coast, such as Belfate and Ceiba, the country contigu- 
ous to the port of Trujillo is the most important. This sea- 
port carries on a large import and export traffic with our 
country and Europe, besides its constantly increasing fruit 
trade with 'Sew Orleans. Bonaca, Ruatan and Utila are the 
principal ports of the Bay Island. 

The enterprising S. Oteri has several steamers constantly 
plying between these ports and the Orescent City. He prob- 
ably carries on a larger fruit traffic than any other house in 
the South. 

As a great influx of people from the Spanish main may be 
expected this winter, the various steamers on these routes will 
be strained to their utmost capacity to carry all the freight 
and passengers oflered them. 

The principal seaport on the Pacific coast is Amapala, which 
is situated on Tiger island, in the bay or gulf of Fonseca. This 
grand sheet of water presents one of the safest and most ex- 
tensive harbors, not only on the Pacific coast, but on the 
planet. Three considerable rivers, the Choluteca, the IsTacaome, 
and the Guascaran, discharge their turgid currents into its 
capacious bosom and discolor the deep clear blue waters which 
flow into it from the tranquil Pacific ocean. 

The gentle swells of this gulf wash the coast ol three iude- 
pendent nations, San Salvador, Honduras and Mcaragua, each 
of which possesses a port of entry within its limits. La Union 
is the seaport of Salvador, and is situated at the head of a sub 
ordinate bay of the same name. Estero Eeal, on the margin 
of a long, deep estuary, which runs far into Nicaragua, in a gen- 
eral northerly direction, is the seaport of that republic, while 
Amapala, situated on the northern slope of a mountainous 
island, is the Pacific seaport of the progressive republic of 
Honduras. 

The gulf of FonsecR is fifty-two miles long by about twenty- 
nine wide, and would, were it not for the numerous islands that 
dot its surface, and shelter its havens from the force of the trade 
winds, which sweep the vast area of the Pacific, contain nearly 
1500 square miles. It is not only famed for its extent and se- 



136 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

curity bat for its depth of water. There is but oue shallow spot, 
towards the north, which reaches from the island of Martin 
Perez to the low northern shore of Honduras. Ships of the 
deepest draft may anchor within a stone's throw of the town 
of Amapala, while between it and the island of Esposicion, the 
water is very deep and the entering and returning tides often 
flow through the strait with great violence. 

The entrance from the sea is about twenty miles wide, but 
immediately across it lie two huge islands, named Concha- 
guita and Miauguera, which belong to San Salvador. These 
islands break the entrance into three separate channels, and 
thus serve to protect the wide expanse of the bay from the 
long high swells that roll before the force of the trade winds 
which blow steadily across the wide Pacific for nearly the 
entire year from the same direction. The island of Coucha- 
guita is 1562 feet high, and that of Mianguera is nearly 1200. 
At the entrance to the bay are two volcanic mountains 
named Conchagua which is 4000 feet high, and Oosiguina 
which is 3000 feet above the level ot the sea. 

The site of Amapala is a narrow strip of level ground on 
the northern coast of Tiger island. It contains about 3000 in 
habitants and boasts of a fair share of commerce. Ships from 
the eastern ports of the United States and from Europe via 
Cape Horn, after a passage of from 120 to 150 days, cast anchor 
off the port. The Pacific mail steamers touch several times 
a month, in their trips up and down the coast, while, occa- 
sionally, small boats from i^icaragua and Salvador visit the 
port. 

Amapala is almost destitute of coast trade and possesses 
no vessels of any kind, save a few primitive looking launches 
and Indian doreys or canoes. Its only commerce, therefore, 
is foreign, nor can it be said that this traffic is augmenting to 
any satisfactory degree. The town boasts several houses 
which trade direct with Europe and the United States. The 
Casa General de Agencies, which does the business of the 
mail steamers, is at present in charge of Gen. Carlos Eoloff, 
an adventurous Pole, who distinguished himself in Cuba 
during the late revolution. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 137 



The houses of Amapala are mostly of wood and are thatched 
-with tiles made on the main land. The lumber of which they 
are constructed comes from abroad, although a few miles in- 
land the sides of the mountains are covered with a vigorous 
growth of stnrdy yellow pine trees. 

The, population of Amapala fluctuates; at times, 5000 people 
crowd the little town, while probably, three months latter, not 
more than 3000 souls can be found within its limits. Good 
wages in Salvador or Nicaragua will cause quite an exodus to 
those republics, while a failure of the corn crop invariably 
brings about an immigration of the most enterprising laborers. 

The women are clean and neat in their dress and person, 
while each morning the children are scrubbed and bathed 
until their little copper-colored hides shine. The men are 
generally dissipated but are hard workers and excellent and 
intrepid watermen. Although the bay abounds in fish, but 
few specimens are seen in the markets, while fruit and vege- 
tables, from the neighboring islands and the main land, and 
corn, the staple food of the people, fill the stalls and form the 
principle objects of domestic traffic. The chief exports are 
hides, tobacco and woods. 

The Honduraneans are possessed with a deep faith in the fu- 
ture great importance of this port,and rely on the much-talked-of 
interoceanic railroad to elevate Amapala into a great commer- 
cial depot. Mr. Squier advanced the same favorable opinion. 
It would be difficult to furnish substantial arguments to sus - 
tain this supposition, for the very railroad which is relied 
upon as the source of Amapala's future greatness, will cer- 
tainly prove its death blow. At present, Tegucigalpa and 
the towns and Pueblos south of it are supplied with their 
foreign merchandise through Amapala. Should the railroad 
be built the traffic line will change and all the markets from 
the northren coast to Tegucigalpa will obtain their supplies 
direct from Europe and the United States via Puerto Oortez. 
That the railroad, sooner or later, will be built is, of course, 
certain, and then the importance of the Pacific seaport of 
Honduras will be sensibly diminished. 

The only hope for Amapala is that the vast fertile plains 
from Savana Grande to the southern coast may be cultivated 



138 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 

and made to yield their rich tributes of cocoa, fruit, coffee, 
sugar, indigo, etc., and that the numerous mines which exist 
among the mountains may be worked by enterprising "miners." 
The rocky hills might be made to yield large^and profitable 
annual harvests of henequin or sisal grass, while the forests 
contain almost inexhaustible quantities of valuable woods. 
When these natural resources of the country south of Savana 
G-rande are developed, then and only then, can Amapala hope 
to regain that wealth and importance it will certainly lose 
upon the completion of the much-talked-of and even more 
longed-for Honduras interoceanic railroad. The amounts of 
the import and export traffic of this port are given in another 
place. 



CHAPTER V. 

The Grand Valley of Sau Pedro Snla— The Rich Forest Resources of this 
Vast Plain — Marvelous Yield of the Cotton Plant— The Celebrate d 
Interoceanic Railroad — The Flora of Honduras — Opportunities for 
Investment of American Capital — A Fertile Soil and Prolific Harvests. 

To the east of the villa of San Pedro lies a plain commonly 
known as the Valley of Snla. It extends from the coast toward 
the south for about sitxy miles, and averages from thirty bo 
fifty miles in width. It is traversed by the rivers Ohamelicon 
and Ulna. 

This immense plain is densely wooded, for the most i)art with 
a beautiful palm the attalea cohuina, which covers thousands 
of square miles along the rivers, and also the northern coast 
of Honduras, This tree grows nowhere but on the most fertile 
soil. 

At localities amidst this enormous palm forest are found in- 
exhaustible quantities of mahogany, cedar, fustic and rose- 
wood, which are cut for exportation along the banks of the 
aboved-named rivers. 

The India rubber tree, (siphonia elastica) gTows luxuriantly, 
and furnishes the rubber exported from Puerto Cortez. Also, 
the sarsaparilla (smilax officinalis) is found in abundance and 
furnishes a valuable article of export. 

Air the wild growing fruit trees are found which are indi- 
genous to tropical America. The corozo palm, which is pro- 
duced in countless numbers, funishea drupes weighing from 
eighty to 100 pounds, consisting of nuts, resembling diminu- 
tive cocoanuts, which yield a very superior oil. 

The terminal bud of the corozo palm, as well as of the cab- 
bage palm [euterpe montana), furnishes a culinary vegetable 
which compares favorably with cauliflower. 

Vanilla abounds in the forest. Xear the banks of the rivers 
and rivulets grows the pita {bromelia Jibresta) in paying quan- 
tities for commercial purposes. The fruits of the wild fig tree 



140 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

and breadnut, or niasica, as well as the leaves of the latter 
tree, serve to feed and fatten stock. 

All kiuds of tropical fruits grow here to the highest perfec- 
tion. Those cultivated are plantains, bananas, pineapples, 
oranges, limes, lemons, aguacates, mangoes, guanabauas, or 
sour-sops, chirimoyas, matasanos, rose-apples, akee, or vege- 
table eggs {cupa7iia sapida). The other productions are cacao, 
coffee, sugar-cane, corn, which gives from three to four crops 
in the year, rice, of a very good quality, and cotton, which, 
instead of being an annual plant, as it is in the United States, 
is here perennial, and growing much larger, yields more than 
twice the amount it does in the most favored locality of the 
former country. 

Together with these tropical plants may be seen many of the 
vegetables of the temperate zone, which are cultivated with 
facility, and can be produced the whole year round. Cabbages, 
turnips, radishes, lettuce, eggplants and tomatoes grow lux- 
uriantly. Vines have been tried and yield very fine grapes, 
which fact, considering that the grape is here indigenous, 
was to be expected. Olives and almonds would grow here to 
perfection, the soil and climate being just what they require. 

This beautiful valley is watered by the rivers Ulua and Oha- 
melicon, both of which ma3^ be navigated for some distance 
by light draught vessels. It is sparsely inhabited, only a few 
small villages and establishments of mahogany cutters being 
found over the whole of its extent. 

The villa of San Pedro is situated on the eastern border of 
the valley of Sula, which plain, extending about three miles 
further east from the town, is closed in by a chain of moun- 
tains runuiug from north to south, which separates it from the 
great valley of Quimistan, famous for its gold mines since the 
early days of the Conquest. 

San Pedro has about 2500 inhabitants and is a thriving 
little town. The foreign element is well represented, the priu- 
c'lpal merchants as well as planters being foreigners. Two 
saw-mills are running ; one cotton-gin is erected, and the town 
is surrounded by banana, plantain, cane, cotton and India 
rubber j)lantations. An American company proposes to es- 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 141 

tablish a central factory for the manufacture of sugar, having 
obtained liberal concessions from the goveriiraeut. 

Apart from the Americans and Europeans established here, 
miners and prospectors are passing through continually, on 
account of the proximity of the gold fields of the valley of 
Quimistan ; thus the traveler is agreeably surprised to hear 
everywhere the English language spoken. 

The old town of San Pedro was founded in the year 1536 by 
the famous conqueror, Pedro de Alvarado, about two miles 
to the west of the present villa. It was destroyed in the sev- 
enteenth century by buccaneers, when the few remaining in- 
liabitants commenced to build on the site where the villa now 
stands. The opening up of the country by the railway drew 
a number of foreigners to the town, and since that time it has 
been- steadily growing. 

The temperature throughout the valley rises from 62° Fah- 
renheit in November, December and January, to 95° Fahren- 
heit in the shade in April and May, these two last being the 
hottest months in the year. However, even in these months 
the thermometer rises very seldom above 92° Fahrenheit. The 
nights are always cool and pleasant, which is caused by the 
vicinity of the forest-clad mountains, the altitude of the town 
above the level of the sea being about 900 feet. 

At the time of the conquest by the Spaniards the whole 
valley of Sula and surrounding country was thickly inhabited 
by Indians. Everywhere through the forest and on the banks 
of the rivers are found relics of that unfortunate race, which 
in such an incredibly short space of time was exterminated by 
the ruthless conquerors. The Indians were taken b;y thou- 
sands, branded like cattle and divided among the Spaniards, 
who treated them with the utmost cruelty. Believing the 
supply to be inexhaustible, they forced them to toil beyond 
their strength at the plantations and mines, where death from 
privation and overwork soon relieved them of their suffering. 

Of the amount of labor then at the disposal of the Spaniards 
one may judge by reading, in Jose Milla's History of Central 
America, that Pedro de Alvarado, when he landed at Puerto 
Oaballos (now Puerto Cortez), in the year 1539, on his return 



142 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 

from Spain, to assume again the government of Guatemala, 
conquered by him a few years before, bad a road made from 
Puerto Oaballos to San Pedro. This highway was wide 
enough to permit two trains of loaded mules, if meeting, to 
pass each other. It was completed in the short space of ten 
days, so that he, his wife, Dona Beatriz, and her maids oi 
honor, as well as his numerous followers, with their cumber- 
some luggage, armaments, etc., could pass with ease and 
comfort. 

As the only railroad in the country runs through this valley 
a brief description of the enterprise might be interesting to 
the American public. Its history may be briefly summed up 
as follows: 

The government of Honduras, naturally emulous of the 
prosperity and the material progress witnessed in the sister 
republics of Central America, determined to construct a rail- 
road from ocean to ocean, across the territory of the re})ublic, 
a distance, in round numbers, of 244 miles. Certain English 
speculators offered to undertake the enterprise. The govern- 
ment granted them a most favorable franchise for the con- 
struction of a narrow-gauge road from Puerto Cortez, on the 
Caribbean sea, to Amapala, on the Pacific ocean. This con- 
cession virtually put the vast and valuable forest resources of 
the re])ublic in the hands of the con)pany. In fact, what with 
wood-cutting and mining privileges, and the grant of ten 
square miles of land for each mile of road constructed, the 
franchise gave the constructors so much valuable j'roperty 
that they would have been able to build the road, equip and 
run it for twenty j^ears without a cent of income upon the 
mere sale or development of the lauds — the forest resources 
and the mining property carried in the grant. 

But in its haste to see the good work accomplished and 
likewise in consequence, perhaps, of a want of experience in 
such matters on the part of the Houduranean officials, the 
government granted the company the privilege of issuing 
bonds, on the completion of a certain number of miles of road 
and the acceptance of the same by the goverr.ment engineers. 
Unfortunately no stipulation was made as to the amount of 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 143 

bonds to be issued. The government depended upon the good 
faithj of the constructors, and the latter relied upon this 
generous confidence as a means to feather their nests most 
effectually. 

Under these happy auspices the British company set earn- 
estly to work to carry out their designs. Some hundreds of 
tons of light iron rails and other construction materials were 
dispatched to Puerto Cortez; an imposing wharf was con- 
structed at the latter place, and the breaking of ground and 
the laying of the first few sleepers was the signal for a grand 
barbecue that lasted several days, and which resulted in the 
permanent occupation of the country by several enthusiastic 
young English engineers, who never recovered from the effects 
of that fatal carouse. 

The route located by the company i)resented no engineering 
])roblems, from the coast to the further end of the great plain 
of San Pedro Sula. This latter point was some miles within 
the stipulated distance to be finished before the company 
could issue its bonds. But the English speculators were 
equal to the emergency. By their orders the locating engi- 
neers so twisted and turned the route that the required num- 
ber of miles were made up within the desired terminal point, 
and the company at once proceeded to issue its first bonds. 

But these first bonds proved to be the last also, for they 
were issued so thick and so fast that some $30,000,000 worth 
were placed before the company wearied of issuing. It is true 
that when the issue reached high up among the millions, the 
bonds were sold at a very low figure, but as long as they sold 
at all the company flooded the market with them and — then 
desisted from further efforts, including all work on the unfor- 
tunate road as well. 

As but sixty milcB of track were laid, over a route that ex- 
tended across a long level plain, the enterprise, if the assertion 
of the British company may be credited, cost the modest sum 
of $500,000 per mile. 

Of course, the Honduras Grovernment refused to acknowl- 
edge such a fraudulent debt. Then the British bondholders 
appealed to their government. The members of that govern- 



144 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

ment sympathized with their unfortunate countrymen, but 
plainly intimated to them that their enterprise being of an 
entirely speculative nature, government would not interfere 
in the premises, and they must settle the matter as they best 
could. Thus, for many years, this so-called debt has hung, 
like a dark cloud, over the Republic of Honduras, preventing 
the influx of foreign capital and the consequent development 
of its vast natural resources. But of late the British bond- 
holders have shown signs of relinquishing a great portion of 
their preposterous demands, for, two years ago, their agent 
proposed to scale this debt of $30,000,000 to 12,500,000. 

While not exactly acceding to their proposition. President 
Bogran has not refused to entertain it. The settlement of this 
unjust claim has long been one of his dearest hopes. It is 
more than probable that he will enter into a favorable arrange- 
meTit with the holders of these bonds when the opportunity 
presents itself 

During the past few years this road has been under numer- 
ous managements. In 1881 a Mr. Hayden contracted with 
the government to run it, but the unfortnnate gentleman, after 
he had sunk about all he possessed, was drowned in a vessel 
that foundered near the coast. The elder Mr. Merrilles then 
took charge of it and retained control of the property until a 
company, rejiresented by Messrs. Waterbury and Hance, of 
ISTew York, obtained a concession from the Honduranean 
Government to continue the line to the Pacific coast. As this 
firm, never, if we may credit the assertions of the Honduranean 
government, carried out any portion of its contract, President 
Bogran took it out of their hands and turned it over to the 
management of Mr. Edward Kraft, an enterprising American 
resident of San Pedro. 

This latter gentleman since he has had charge of the enter- 
prise has laid out a large sura of money for repairs and rolling- 
stock. The road is at length in fair working order, while Mr. 
Kraft's management seems to give general satisfaction. 

The valley of San Pedro Sula, with the adjacent high lands, 
contain a fair representation of the flora of Honduras, which 
also may be considered as general throughout Central A mericar; 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 145 

The names of the principal forest trees and medicinal plants 
of the Eepublic are as follows. 

HA.RDWOODS. 

1. Madre y Po-t^re (mother and father) — A small tree, from 
eight to twelve inches in diameter ; principally used for fence 
posts. It should be cut when green. When dry is is so hard 
that no ax can make an impression on it. In wet or damp land 
it will outlast iron. 

2. Mora — ThQ fustic of commerce; is used for dyeing purposes 
and for house and fence posts, etc. House posts that have 
been interred not more than ten feet trom runuing^water, on 
being taken out, after fourteen years, had not lost their bright 
golden color. There are two kinds of mora or fustic. One is 
all yellow ; the other has a hard, stringy heart, of dingy black 
color. 

3. Laurel — called Laurel in Spanish, and in botany Laurel 
guindo or Laurel regio. This wood (the black laurel), like the 
fustic or mora, will equal iron for posts in damp localities, if 
cut at maturity and under favorable circumstances. There 
are three kinds, black, yellow and white. The first is the only 
kind used for out-door purposes. It will eventually become 
a valuable export. 

4. Sempisqui — A large tree, which often reaches from eighteen 
to twenty-two feet in diameter in various localities, ft is ot 
regular form and also of imposing appearance. The sap is 
pale yellow, the first formation is rose-red, and the heart, or 
hard wood, dark brown. It is very hard and fine-grained. 

5. Silimere — Of medium size, and regular form. The wood 
is hard and fine-grained, its color dark rose red and its heart 
dark brown. It is very durable. 

6. iSile — Of medium size, hard, fine-grained and durable. 
The color of this wood is a dark rose-red. The heart is deep 
brown. It is very hard, fine grained and heavy to handle, 

7. FrijoUo (called by the Belize and Jamaica negroes Billy 
Webb) — It is of large growth and very superior quality. The 
color of the wood, from the bark to the heart, is light lead. 
The heart in very old specimens is a deep dark red color ; of 
fine grain and very heavy. 



146 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 

8. Madre Cacao — This wood is equal, if not superior, on ac- 
count of the many uses to which it can be put, to mahogauy. 
Its color is a bright yellow, its grain fine. It is very heavy 
and not liable to crack or split. 

9. Oak (Encima, S.) — There are four varieties to be found 
in various localities, viz : white, red, black, and live oak — the 
moss oak of Louisiana. 

10. Pitch pine and yellow pine, with the same qualities as 
the pure timber of the temperate zone. There arc immense 
quantities all over the country. 

11. Almendro — A heavy, solid, fine-grained wood. The 
color of this timber is a pale yellow. 

12. Cortez — A large tree, very durable. Color of all the 
wood — a i)ale yellow. Very fine grain, 

13. Balsanio — A large tree ; qualities same as the former. 
Color of wood, yellow ; heart, red. 

TIMBER USED IN HONDURAS FOR BUILDING PURPOSES. 

1. Laurel — ^Yellow and white, is much used for inside work, 
such as beams, rafters, door and window frames^ etc. It is 
strong and durable. 

2. Mahogany — Too well known all over the world to require 
any particular notice. In Honduras it is not used for building 
purposes with but few exceptions. 

3. Cedar — Is very plentiful, and reaches a large size. 

4. Manacapa — Superior to the yellow or white laurel or ma- 
hogany for general building use, etc. 

5. Calan — A heavy, fine-grained wood, which is equal to 
mahogany in durability. Its color is yellow. 

6. Yaya — Has all the appearance and qualities of lance- 
wood, of which, probably, it is a variety. 

7. Yellow Pine — Is but little utilized in Honduras, except, 
in localities where it is abundant and other kinds of timber 
are scarce. 

8. Manteca — (Lardwood) — Used for the same purposes as 
yellow pine. It is a heavy, close-grained wood, much stronger 
than pine and more elastic. 

9. Bloodwood — {Falosangre) — This is believed to be the ze- 
brawood of Europe, as known in commerce. Is seldom usedi 



REPUBLIC OP HONDUllAS. 141 



10. Jabon — Is not so durable as the before-mentioned bard 
woods, but still is quite lasting. What it lacks in durable 
qualities it makes up in color, being of a very rich, bright- 
orange tint, and is heavy and close-grained. 

11. Maquelize — This wood is like mountain ash and is used 
for like purposes. It can be readily bent, when green, into 
any desired form. 

12. Giruelia — A species of wild plum tree, very much like 
the zebrawood. It is occasionally used to make furniture. 

13. Rosewood — Is found in various localities, but the quality 
is said to be somewhat inferior of that of Santo Domingo. 

There are many other varieties of durable woods, suitable 
for building and other purposes. 

MEDICINAL TREES AND PLANTS. 

1. Jiole — A large tree of very pretty appearance, growing to 
the height of seventy and eighty feet. ' It possesses medicinal 
qualities. The bark and leaves are used as a beverage, like 
tea or coffee. It is pleasant, agreeable and slightly aromatic. 
The fresh juice is used to close and cure wounds; as a poultice 
to the feet, in fever and*ague, or fever; to ease the head; in 
cases of sick headache the leaves are placed on the temples. 
The bark and leaves are used in water for sickly, weak per- 
sons to bathe in. 

2. Bamon — A medium sized tree of common appearance. 
The sap of this tree is used as a remedy for bites of venomous 
insects. 

3. Mato Palo — A very curious tree ; the juice taken fresh 
from the bark, spread over a piece of strong calico or thin 
leather, is applied to reducing inflammation, swellings and 
what is also commonly called windy swellings. It is good for 
man and beast, and is celebrated all over the country. 

4. Sansapote or Oraca — The kernel of the fruit is used as a 
remedy in summer for bowel complaint and dysentery. 

5. Chicalaca — This is a tree of medium height. The flowers 
are used in combination with elder flowers (called flores de 
sauco) in fever and ague and for fevers generally. 

6. Chichapate — The bark of this tree is used in the above 
mentioned disease. 



148 KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

7. Carlos Santo — A small plaut ; the seed and root are used 
as a remedy in dropsy. 

8. Orosul — An herb; all tlie herb is used in combination 
with senna as a cathartic for colds and catarrh. 

9. Chillitidron — This is a tree of medium size; the seed is used 
to care toothache by being put in the cavity of the tooth. 

9. Guaco—A vine used as antidote for the poison of snake 
bites. 

10. Contra Yerha—A small herb used in a great many sick- 
nesses, viz : Fever and ague, fever, snake bites, stings of in- 
sects, etc.; and also as a tisane in fevers. 

11. Escorchinera — An herb used as a remedy for sick head- 
ache, inflammation in the throat, and to bring on the catame- 
nial periods. 

12. Nawapate — A plant used as a remedy for boils, ulcers, 
etc. It is taken in decoction and applied as a powder and 
poultice, and also as injections for pains of the bowels. 

13. Ariana — An herb used as a remedy for dysentery, etc. 

14. Candala — An herb used as a poultice for boils, etc. 

15. Ojo Fuerco — A plant used as a remedy for snake poison. 

16. Yerba el Toro— ^Used in painful inflammations, etc. 

17. Siwapate — A tree ; the bark is used as a tisane in flatu- 
lent colic, etc. 

18. Ojo Sierra — An herb ; used as a tisane to cool and purify 
the blood. 

19. Suntul — Herb ; used as a tisane in colds, catarrh, coughs. 

20. Vivoran — Herb; used as a powerful vomit, taken to 
break up colds, catarrh, etc. In some districts it is known by 
the name of " leaf of the wind," and " leaf of the air." 

21. Malva — Herb; used for injections, fomentations and 
poultices. 

22. EsGohilla Amarga — Herb ; used as malva, etc. 

23. Frijolio — Herb; used with malva sylvestre and malva 
castilla, in the same diseases as the two former, and often as 
a beverage. 

24. Cinco Negritos — A medium sized tree ; the bark used as 
tisane in fever and ague. It is a powerful sudorific. 

25. Falo Quesillo — A plaut ; used as a remedy for private 
diseases. ♦ 



RKPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 14(V 

26. Pericon — A medium sized tree ; the juice of the leaves 
is used to relieve afterpains in child-bearing and tor wind 
colic, coughs, etc. 

27. Bitimo — A small plant; the leaves are utilized as a 
tisane to atop bleeding from the lungs and anus. It grows in 
abundance. 

.28. Sueldo con Sueldo — An herb ; the leaves are bruised and 
applied as a poultice in sprains, dislocations, etc. 

29. Limoncilla — A plant or shrub; the bark is used as a 
tisane, or a vomit, but it is very powerful, and for this reason 
is seldom used. 

30. Chuchilo — A tree of more than medium size ; the bark 
is made into a tisane. As a cathartic, its effects are powerful. 

31. — Ouacuco — A tree; the fruit is used as a tisane in the 
localities where it is found. 

32. Orejuela — A large tree ; the shell which covers the seed 
is the part used. An ointment is made of it to close the soft 
part of the heads of infants. It is applied to the child from 
the age of six weeks to two months. 

33. Michoacan — An herb; the bulbous root is the part used, 
and is taken as a cathartic, like the Carlos Santos. 

34. Bedoma (commonly called Esponga) — The fruit of a vine 
which contains a round, soft, fibrous matter or substance, 
from which it takes the name of sponge. It is used as a quick, 
easy vomit. 

34. Chiamora—A vine ; its seed is used as a strong cathar- 
tic; is given to infants particularly to chew on, for the pur- 
pose of cleansing and strengthening their stomachs, cart- 
being taken that they do not chew too mucb. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Ilondurauean Agiicultural System— Primitive Method yet in Voyue — 
Spontaneous Frnit trees — Sugar Cane, Cotton, Coifee, Tobacco and 
other Tropical and Semi-Tropical Products — The Cereals of the Tem- 
perate Belt — Tropic Fruit Trade, Wood Cutting, aud Mining Enter- 
prises the Principal Business of the Past. 
The system of agriculture followed by the inhabitants of this 
country is as primitive as that employed by the grandsons of 
Noah, while it may not fairly be considered as effective. The 
ignorant husbandman clears a small space on the most con- 
venient mountain side, opens the soil, at intervals, with an iron- 
shod stick, drops a few kernals of corn in each hole, which he 
covers by drawing the soil over it with his bare foot. Such 
fields constitute the celebrated milpas or maize patches, which 
supply the greater part of the people with corn from which 
they manufacture their indigestible tortillas or so called corn 
bread. 

The plains although the most fertile and productive localities, 
are seldom cultivated. When they are, the ground is merely 
scratched by a steel- pointed stick, called by habit a plow. Yet 
fields thus prepared produce bountiful crops of wheal, rye and 
barley. There is a vast quantity of land, in the higher valleys, 
that are hidden amid the tall mountains which corrugate the 
suiface of the country, where cereals of all kinds may be pro- 
duced in the utmost profusion. When the country is occupied 
by immigrants, and the application of modren agricultural im- 
plements is made, these little valleys will become blooming and 
productive farm lands, competent to furnish a large popula- 
tion with breadstufis. 

The peculiar toijographical formation of the country renders 
its climate extremely diversified. While the people of the 
mountains, in the morning, crouch over their fires, or smother 
themselves under several blankets, their brethern in the valleys 
distant but a few thousand feet from (below) them, are swel- 
tering under the fierce rays of the tropic sun that beats down 
upon them from the brazen cloudless sky above. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. 151 

By cousequence of these singular local extremes of heat and 
cold the flora of the republic is remarkably varied and exten- 
sive. Every plant, tree and shrub that flourishes in any part 
of this hemisphere can be produced within the fertile limits of 
Honduras. The sturdy dwarfed pine that braves the cokl 
blasts of the winds that come rushing down from the moun- 
tain tops may, while casting its long shadow down the hillside 
at evening, darken the spot where the tender fern or the sen- 
sitive shrub of the semi-tropicl vegetates. Thus there is no 
limit to the nature of the production of this fertile soil, while 
many landholders embrace within a single tract of their terri- 
tory the cold, the temperate, the semi-tropic and the tropic 
climates. 

Honduras produces all the spontaneous alimentary food 
found within the limits of the tropics, beside some species pe- 
culiar to Central America alone. The cherrimoya assumes a 
size and possesses a flavor equal to the Mexican species. The 
aguacate is large, mellow and well-flavored. Orange trees de- 
velop into large proportions, while their uncared for and un- 
pruned branches bend under the weight of a profusion of 
golden fruit. 

The hill and mountain sides are covered with rare plants 
and shrubs, which bear luscious and to us literally unknown 
fruits. Even the forests yield their tribute, while a huge 
specimen of tbe banyan, or wild fig, bears a succulent bulb, 
which is greedily devoured by cattle, horses and mules. 

Coffee flourishes in various localities. The departments of 
Santa Barbara and Oopan are noted for their tobacco and 
coffee farms. l!*5"umerous profitable j)lantations exist in the 
vicinity of Chinda and Santa Barbara, which now, in conse- 
quence of the prompt opening of the river Ulua by the Shears 
enterprise, may export their crops to the outer world. The 
coffee of Honduras is large and is exceedingly well flavored, 
while by consequence ot the cheap tariff of wages for the agri- 
cultural labor that can be obtained in the locality, it is pro- 
duced at a much less cost than is the general rule in Central 
America. 

The cotton i)lant grows to perfection in the numerous tropi- 
cal and semi-tropical plains that dot the country. Its fibre 



153 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

seems as large aud as fine as the bes|; Louisiana staple. Some 
months ago, Mr. W. A*. Coleman, a planter of San Pedro, sent 
some fine specimens of cotton-bolls to the Times-Democrat 
office. A letter which accompanied the samples, and which 
fully described the wonderful productiveness of the plant, was 
published in the columns of that journal. 

It will not be long before the cotton fields of Honduras 
(which may be made to produce at least 1200 pounds of gin- 
ned cotton per acre) will enter into competition with the 
Egyptian cotton lands in the marts of Europe. Labor is so 
cheap that it can be produced and picked at a minimum cost; 
thus the price of its cultivation will not ascend to more than 
one-third the cost that obtains in our Southern States. 

Sugar cane attains a size and yield scarcely to be imagined 
by the Louisiana planter. The crop is perennial. There are 
numerous fields on the coast that have not been cultivated or 
replanted for twenty-five years, yet their minimum yield is 
stated to be about 2500 pounds per acre. Where care is taken 
in the cultivation of the crop, the yield will reach 3500 pounds 
per acre of ratoon or old cane. There are various localities 
in this highly favored country where the cultivation of sugar 
cane might become a flourishing industry. 

A great many farmers of the country have begun to culti 
vate Guinia grass. The foot-hills of the tropics and semi- 
tropics are chosen as the localities most favorable for the 
production of the grass. Its cultivation bids fair to become 
a most valuable branch of agriculture, for it is stated that 
beef fed on it possesses a superior flavor to any other. The 
seed was originally imported from Jamaica, but the plant 
thrives better in Honduras than in the West Indies. 

Every class of vegetables found in the markets of the 
United States can be produced in Honduras. Onions, cab- 
bages, carrots, beets, turnips, etc., when cultivated grow to a 
prodigious size, while pumpkins, squashes, melons of all kinds, 
cucumbers, etc., yield fabulous returns to the patient hus- 
bandman. Potatoes of the finest quality thrive in the valleys 
of the temperate belt, while the gardens adjacent to the city 
of Tegucigalpa supply the local markets with a superior speci- 
men of this valuable table esculent. 



REPUBLTC OF UONBUKAS. 153 

When the railroad penetrates the Tegucigalpa valley and 
connects the interior with the coast, a. thriving traffic in vege- 
tables will be carried on with the people of the tropical dis- 
tricts of the republic, while the same fertile lands will furnish 
the tropic marts with apples, peaches, plums, pears, cherries, 
currants and all the varied fruits and vegetables of the colder 
zones. 

Tobacco is cultivated in many parts of the republic, but 
that of Oopan enjoys a just pre-eminence over all others for 
flavor. While it cannot be said to equal the Mexican leaf, or 
possess its exquisite aroma, the Honduras tobacco will com- 
pare very favorably with the average plant produced through- 
out Latin-America. 

The government possesses a monopoly of the tobacco trade. 
It buys the leaf and sells it at retail. Fo one can sell cigars 
without a license, or manufacture them without permission. 
At the same time the export of both the manufactured article 
and the leaf is free, and tons of both are sent to Guatemala 
and Salvador annually. The government also enjoys a mono • 
poly of the liquor trade, thus no small portion of its revenue 
is derived from these sources. 

The forests of the tropics abound with hule or rubber trees; 
or rather not long since did; for their number, by consequence 
of the vandalic system employed by the Indians in extracting 
the precious gum, is gradually decreasing. Some years ago 
Mr. Edward Kraft, together with several other enterprising^ 
foreign residents of the valley of San Pedro, inaugurated the 
rubber planting industry. Mr. Kraft possesses several thou- 
sand trees, from one to six years old ; Mr. Jose Soube, 4000 ; 
the Coleman brothers an equal number, perhaps, while nu- 
merous natives have planted many thousands more. 

The rubber tree should not be tapped until it has attained 
the age of ten years, when it will yield annually twenty-five 
pounds of excellent caoutchouc. A tree will readily net its 
possessor $6 a year ; thus Mr. Kraft's trees will return him a 
large income in the course of a few years. An acre of ground 
produces 160 trees ; thus 100 manzanas or 200 English acres 
will yield 32,000 trees. 



154 rb:^ublic of Honduras. 

This industry is destined to assume great proportions in the 
course of the uext two decades. Meanwhile the spontaneous 
production of the rubber tree is still going on. It will be 
many years before this natural supply will be exhausted. It 
is safe to assume then, that the rubber industry of Honduras 
will form an important factor in the future traffic of the re- 
public. 

Bananas of various kinds, together with several species of 
the plantain thrive luxuriantly on the tropic plains of San 
Pedro and La Paz, and also along the extended northern coast. 
The cultivation of these valuable fruits for exportation has 
long been a chief desideratum with the present truly liberal 
government, which, on its part, has made every endeavor to 
foster and encourage this nascent industry. 

Hitherto, the energies of .the people have been principally 
directed to the wood cutting and raining industries. But the 
establishment of the Oteri and Macheca lines of steamers, and 
the marvelous development of the tropic fruit traffic in this 
country, have brought about a corresponding development of 
the fruit planting industry along the Caribbean coast. At 
Puerto Oortez a fair amount of capital is invested in this in- 
terest, and flourishing plantations are established at the La- 
goona, Cieneguita, and other points along this pretty bay, 
while around the point, in the neighborhood of Omoa, banana 
and plantain raising has become the principal industry of the 
inhabitants. 

Within the past six years several foreign and native resi- 
dents of the Sula valley at or near San Pedro, have established 
extensive fruit plantations. The miserable condition of the 
railroad has prevented the planters from freighting their fruit 
to the coast. The Macheca Bros, and Oteri, have often lost 
money by accidents on the road. Several instances have oc- 
curred where cars laden with bananas have jumped the track 5 
before they could be replaced the fruit was spoiled. As the 
planters were aware of the uncertainty attending transporta- 
tion over this route they refused to furnish fruit unless they 
were paid for it before the cars left San Pedro station. The 
loss consequently always fell upon the shippers, who, after 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 155 

haviug beon bitten several times refused to run any further 
risks. For, quite a period, then, the San Pedro fruit planting 
industry languished. Thousands of marketable bunches of 
bananas rotted monthl j^ on the trees, while the farmers not only 
took no further steps to increase their acreage of cultivation, 
but CA'^en neglected the land already planted. 

But the new management of the railroad, under Mr. Kraft's 
supervision, has repaired the track and rendered passenger 
and freight traffic tolerably certain The planters have re- 
covered their courage, have again begun to bestow more atten- 
tion upon their almost deserted plantations, and once more 
trains loaded with bananas, for shipment may be seen leaving 
the San Pedro depot. 

There are numerous steamers and a number oi schooners en- 
gaged in freighting fruit from Central America to the Crescent 
City. Yet six years ago three or four small schooners sufficed to 
carry on this traffic. But the business spirit of the elder (S). 
Oteri, and the enterprise of the Macheca Bros, and C. A. Fish 
& Co., has developed the tropic fruit traffic into vast propor- 
tions. The business manager of the Macheca's on the Carib- 
bean coast, Capt. James Leitch, has, if he was not chiefly in- 
strumental — greatly influenced the development of the fruit 
iflanting interest along the Caribbean coast from Belize south- 
ward and eastward as far as Tela. He encouraged the natives 
to plant and in many instances assisted them with means. 
While at times the simple people have treated him with abso- 
lute injustice, have deliberately broken their contracts, and 
have given fruit, which he had bought, and which certainly 
belonged to him, to occasional IsTew York or Philadelphia 
steamers, they cannot cite a single instance where he has dealt 
unjustly with them. But by fair dealing and strict adherence 
to his contracts, Capt. Leitch has won the confidence of this 
people and is deservedly popular with them. 

It is fortunate, however, that the Honduras coast is so exten- 
sive and that so mich unoccupied land may be utilized, for 
banana planting- This crop is even more deleterious to the soil 
than tobacco. In five years a plantation is worn out, and the 
planter must prepare new land for further crops, while the 



156 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

wasted soil, on tlie lately occupied place needs years of rest 
before it can thoroughly recuperate. 

President Bogran has declared his intention of creating 
Puerto Cortez, Omoa, and the territory contiguous to them a 
free zone. If this plan is carried out a most favorable impetus 
will be given to the fruit planting interests. The results of 
such experiments have proven so favorable at Port Livingston, 
Guatemala, that the present government of Honduras, will, 
when some arrangement can be made toward carrying out the 
inter-oceanic railroad enterprise certainly favor Gen. Bogran's 
project. 



CHAPTEK Vll. 

The Wood Cutting Industry — Its Importauce — Description of Mahogany 
Cutting Methods — The Honduras and Grand Rapids Timber Com- 
pany — Origin of ibs Establishment — Its Admirable Success — Stock 
Raising — Tobacco Planting — Manufacture of Rum, Hats and Other 
Articles— Cities and Towns. 

Ever since the first ai^pearance of the buccaneers on the 
Caribbean coast, furniture wood cutting has been one of the 
principal industries of the native and foreign residents. It 
was this tra£Bc that brought about the first settlement of 
British Honduras, which ultimately culminated in the conquest 
and permanent occupation of that province by our trans- 
atlantic cousins. The principal furniture woods are mahogany, 
cedar, ebony, rosewood, and amarillo. There are numerous 
other kinds of Central American hard timber, as yet unknown 
to foreign commerce, but which are destined to become, before 
long, both known and appreciated. The dye woods — fustic, 
brazil, logwood and bragillito — are valuable objects of com- 
merce. 

Camps are formed for mahogany logging at the beginning 
of the dry season. Experienced men select the proper trees, 
which are felled, hewed into shai)e and the floatable logs are 
cast into the rivers and streams to be carried to the sea. The 
dye woods will not float, and are consequently transported in 
crates. The methods employed in getting out timber could be 
improved upon, but are at the same time very good, labor 
being abundant and cheap, and the appliances simple. On 
account of the hard work required in cutting mahogany trees 
close to the ground, the natives direct their axes to a point 
from six to eight feet above it, leaving an average of probably 
from 300 to 500 feet of the best part of the tree, so far as beauty 
of grain is concerned, on each stump, besides the roots which 
are gnarled and twisted, and bear the same proportionate ad- 
ditional value to the body of the tree that a walnut root does, 
being admirable for veneers. The bottom of the tree is wide 



158 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

and spreads out. Two thotisand feet is a modest estimate oi 
the amount secured from au average trunk, Irrespective of the 
waste. A tree lately cut in Honduras made three log\s which 
were sold in Europe and brought over $11,000. The ma- 
hogany tree ranges from one to seven feet in diameter, is often 
sixty feet to the first branches, and frequently exceeds ninety 
feet in height, the cedar averages about the same in diam- 
eter. The Honduras mahogany comes to market in logs from 
two to four feet square, and twelve to fourteen feet long, 
planks sometimes being obtained that are seven feet wide. Its 
grain is very open, and often irregular, with black or grey 
specks. The veins and figures are often very distinct and 
handsome, that which is of golden color and free from specks 
being considered the best. It is said to hold glue better than 
any other wood. The weight of a cubic foot of mahogany 
varies from thirty-five to fifty- three pounds. As compared 
with oak, which is called 100 per cent, the strength of ma- 
hogany is be tween sixty-seven and ninety-six, its stiiiness is 
from seventy-three to ninety-three, and its toughness from 
sixty-one to ninety-nine per cent. The d^^e woods are generally 
small, and are cut into small pieces. 

The government engineer of Honduras estimates the total 
value of the trees, such as are regarded fit to l.e cut, at $200,- 
000,000 while the smaller trees not ready to cut are also worth 
a large amount. 

Europe possesses few furniture woods, and has held the im- 
ports from Honduras and other countries in high esteem. This 
appreciation, born of the necessities of the case, has resulted in 
securing better prices for mahogany and other valuable woods 
in the European markets than can be obtained in the ports of 
the United States. However, these conditions are likely to 
change, and a more direct business will grow up with the com- 
mercial centres of the United States. The railroads are begin- 
ning to be interested, and are making overtures favoring 
international traffic, and it is expected it will not be long be- 
fore Honduras woods will be shipped in large volume to New 
Orleans, and thence to Chicago, thus reaching a main western 
distributing point direct, instead of drifting in a circumnavi- 



EEPUBLIG OF HONDURAS. 159 

gable manner to New York city, and thence westward, as 
heretofore. . 

Eegarding means of transportation, there are several lines 
of steamei-s running between Honduras and IsTew Orleans. The 
cost of freighting mahogauj-, for instance, from Honduras to 
jS"ew Orleans is more than to London, England. The average 
cost to the latter port from $5 75 to $10 per ton, while to New 
Orleans it is about $12. These are given as bottom figures. 
The schooners being small craft, find it more profitable to carry 
fruits and other lighter cargo than to load with heavy timber. 
On account of the scarcity of many of the hard woods of the 
United States, consumers are forced to seek foreign supplies. 
Hitherto, or until within a recent period, this country has not 
been impressed with the necessity of going heavily into the 
importation of fancy woods, consequently the traffic has been 
comparatively'' moderate. Moreover, a large home investment 
of capital has been called for m developing the internal traffic 
of our own country, and with vast resources of her own, the 
United States has not until lately been required to go abroad 
to seek a market for her surplus manufacture. 

But within the past five years our home industries have be- 
gun to produce more than a sufficiency to furnish our domes- 
tic/^ supply, thus, the Qianufacturers have been compelled to 
seek foreign markets for their surplus wares. Central Amer- 
ica has hitherto exchanged the products of her vast and val- 
uable forests for European manufactures. If our merchants 
are only true to their interests and display the same untiring 
energy towards building up our foreign commerce as they 
have evinced in developing our domestic traffic, this desidera- 
tum can readily be accomplished. 

To prove this assertion, the following instance might be 
cited: When ex-President Soto was in Chicago, somewhat 
more than a year ago, he informed the author that he was de- 
sirous of establishing closer trade relations between the Great 
Republic and his own beautiful inter-tropical country. He 
mentioned the Hondurauean wood-cutting interest and ex- 
pressed a hope that American capitalists would find it to their 
advantage to invest in it. This coaversation culminated in 



160 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 



the purchase by the author of a valuable wood-cuttiug frau- 
chise iu the name of the firm of Robinson & Lacey, of Grand 
Rapids, Mich. These gentlemen formed a company in their 
native city which immediately proceeded to carry out the con- 
ditions of the grant, one of which was the absolute possession, 
with the right to export free of duty or any charge whatever, 
10,000 first-class mahogany trees, together with the privilege 
of cuttiug cedar trees at a minimum rate for stumpage. The 
syndicate, under the able management of Mr. Jas. D, Lacey, 
has already accomplished vast results, and has nearly, if not 
quite, 1,500,000 feet of first-class mahogany timber ready for 
transportation to our markets. 

Stock raising may fairly be estimated as the next important 
Honduranean industry. In fact, if proper steps were taken 
towards its development it would most probably become in a 
few years the most important. On the Pacific^ coast, where 
the I'ainy season seems neither as prolonged nor as consistent 
as on the Atlantic slope, stock raising is less profitable, for it 
is attended with more risks. There are few perennial streams 
in that locality, and during the dry season the parched arid 
plains yield but scanty provision for the starving herds. 
Often hundreds of cattle die before the rain sets iu, while 
numerous cases occur where they become so debilitated that 
they cannot endure the scouring effect produced by the new 
grass, and die in the most intense agony. If on the vast 
plains that lie between the Naocame, the Guaarcarin and the 
Oholuteca rivers the grass is rich and plentiful and the cattle 
are sleek and plump in the rainy months, the barrenness of 
the same localities during the dry months, unless irrigation is 
employed, will forever preclude the probability of this region, 
becoming a great cattle producing centre. 

On the Caribbean — or Atlantic — slope the situation is 
vastly different. The country, while corrugated by mountain 
ranges, spurs and foothills, is reticulated by numerous per- 
ennial streams. Between these watercourses the land is gen- 
erally level and liable to overflow in many localities. It is 
true that the water quickly subsides, probably in a few hours ; 
yet the soil has been sufficiently irrigated to revivify the. 



REPUBLIC OF HONDUHAS. 161 

grass, the shrubs and the other herbage that cattle depend 
upon for their subsistence. 

At Sehuatepeque, for instance, the wet season lasts from 
eight to nine months. During the height of said season it 
rains almost constantly ; thus the high table lands, the moun- 
tain slopes and the foothill sides of this locality always fur- 
nish sufficient herbage not only to sustain the cattle, but to 
keep them in good condition for the market. On the wide 
plains of Olanoho, and beyond to the eastward in the Depart- 
ment of Mosquitia, cattle raising may safely be considered the 
prime industry. Vessels loaded with fat steers are constantly 
sailing from Trujillo to Cuban ports, while the Departments 
of Santa Barbara and Comayagua supply both the Belize and 
Havana markets with well conditioned beeves. 

While even the most enthusiastic admirer of Honduras 
cattle would not affirm that this stock equals the improved 
breeds that roam the vast plains of Texas and California, yet 
the Honduranean beev^es compare favorably with the so-called 
Spanish cattle of Florida and Northern Mexico. 

President Bogran has taken steps to procure some blooded 
stock for his own ranche. Capt. Aruoux, Mr. Zuniga, Mr. 
Zelaya, Mr. Alonzo Yalenzuela, and several of the ranchmen 
of the Northern coast, either have, or purpose, to follow his 
example ; thus in a few ^ears the present breed will be vastly 
improved. 

But little can be said in favor of Honduranean horses and 
mules. They are as a general case small, but at the same 
time are exceedingly wirey. The freight transportation of the 
country is carried on, almost in its entirety, by pack trains of 
mules and donkeys ^burros). This transportation system is 
extremely expensive, but is the only one that can obtain until 
railroads become more general and cart roads are opened in 
the most important localities. 

Vast herds of goats and sheep abound in the semi-temperate 
and cool regions. In all seasons of the year these hardy 
animals find ample subsistence where larger cattle would die 
of starvation. Wool producing has not yet arrived at the 
degree of an important industry, although it well might, if 



1()3 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 

i 

Steps were taken to promote its develonmeiit. Both sheep and 
goats are raised principally for their meat. In many cases 
their hides are not even preserved. 

While tobacco planting is a flourishing industry in the de- 
partment of Copau, the i^lant is generally cultivated through- 
out the entire country. The leaf, for lack of proper curing, 
is not equal to the prime Mexican staple, but is, nevertheless, 
of a very fine grade. Thus the manufacture of cigars and 
cigarettes is carried on in every town, village and hamlet. It 
must be admitted that the common Honduranean cigar is not 
a first-class article, yet it is very cheap. Good ordinary cigars, 
equal to those exposed for sale in this country for five dollars 
per hundred, are bought at retail for seventy-five cents per 
hundred ; cigarettes are correspondingly cheap. 

The government monopolizes the sale of tobacco, that is to 
say, all tobacco in the leaf; cigars and cigarettes sold within 
the limits of the republic are retailed by persons duly author- 
ized by Government, and who buy from the national depos- 
its the leaf for cash. The dealers are not allowed to charge 
more than five per cent over the government price. This 
monopoly yields quite a revenue to the national treasury. 

The manufacture and sale of runi is also a government 
monopoly. This liquor is extracted from molasses and is called 
ron de cana and also aguadiente. In some localities a species 
of rutn is extracted from the mescal, a [<iant of the aloe family. 
This liquor is much superior to cane rum, and justly merits 
the appellation of mescal brandy. Eum, of a fair quality, but 
of singular flavor, is extracted from the banana. Several 
parties along the coast have lately inaugurated this business, 
which, in time, promises to assume verv fair proportions. 

There are other minor classes of native industries which,- 
while they may exert some local influence, are but little known 
or appreciated beyond the limits where they are practiced. 
Thus certain towns are famous for the palm leaf hats made 
by their inhabitants; others for the manufacture of pottery 
and earthenware; others for preserves and prepared fruits, 
and others yet, for thB various kinds of mats exposed for sale 
in front of the houses, etc., etc. 



REPUBLIC OK ilONDUllAS. H).') 



As stated in another chapter, the interior lands situated at 
a high altitude above the sea are admirably adapted to the 
cultivation of wheat and other cereals. In these fortunate 
regions the intense heat of the tropical sun is partially lost 
in the extremely rarified atmosphere and is also tempered by 
the cold winds that blow from the adjacent bleak mountain 
tops. At night, the dense clouds which during the day cling- 
pertinaciously to the tall summits of the mountains, descend 
to the low lands, and — during the dry months — shed a copious 
fall of dew over the plains and valleys. Thus, where in the 
hot regions near the coast the vegetation assumes a dry and 
parched appearance, in the higher altitudes, it is invariably 
fresh and green, and the crops produced in the latter localities 
are remarkably plenteous. 

The unexperienced traveler often notices with astonishment 
that while in one locality the people enjoy a plentiful supply 
of Indian corn — which is the staple food of the masses — at 
another point, situated perhaps but sixty or seventy miles 
distant, they actually suffer from a lack of this, to them, in- 
dispeusible cereal The cause for this anomalous situation is 
easily explained. The districts where famines temporarily 
prevail have expe'ienced a drouth during the rainy season. 
The parched soil las refused to return its usual prolific yield 
of the cereal, and, as the mountain bridle paths are almost im- 
passible during ctrtain seasons of the year, and as transpor- 
tation is always extremely costly, the price of corn by the time 
it reaches the disti'ict where a scarcity prevails, is so exorbi- 
tant that the poorer classes in many cases are totally unable to 
pay for it. An example to prove this assertion may be cited. 

In the years 188L and 1882, the districts on the Pacific slope, 
between the capital city, Tegucigalpa and the coast, experi- 
enced an unusual and prolonged drouth. The corn crops ut- 
terly failed twice n succession, and the starving people were 
compelled to substitute the seed of the broom corn for the ac- 
customed cereal. On the Atlantic slope, and also on the east- 
ern table lands, tl^*. crops were unusually prolific, but the cost 
of transportation from this locality to the Pacific slope was 
so great, that wieu Grovernraent wiis compelled to come to 



164 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



the rescue of the starving people, and famish them with Indian 
corn, it was found much cheaper to purchase the article in San 
Ffaucisco, pay freight on it to Amapala, aud thence to Na- 
caome, the centre of the famine afflicted reigou, than to draw 
upon the ample domestic supply in the eastern districts. Thus 
while corn sold for SI 50 a fanega — 400 ears— in San Pedro 
Sula, at Nacaome it readily brought from $5 to $6. 

The same lack of transi^ortation methods prevents the wheat 
and flour of the interior table lands from being sent to the 
coast on either side, and the natives of i San Pedro on the At- 
lantic slope, and JSTacaome, and Guascaian on the Pacific side, 
And it much cheaper to purchase their supplies of this impor- 
tant food stuff in the New Orleans aud San Francisco markets. 

While there are several primitive grisj; njills in the republic 
which turn out very fair flour, their prodjicts exercise but a 
limited influence, which is felt only in the mtirkets of the local- 
ities where they are established. The condition of the roads 
aud the high price of transportation will account for this sin- 
gular situation. Two years ago a young German planted a 
vegetable garden, and a large quantity of wteat near the Po- 



tosi mining company's property. He depei 



ded iipon the de- 



mand at the mines for a market for his pr(^duce. The flour 
furnished from his wheat field also finds a reidy market in the 
neighboring pueblos. He intends putting np a smaJl grist 
mill and planting a larger area of wheat. 

The gigantic ''Tabor" enterprise on the ^atook river has 
also established a grist mill on one of its pro lerties. As some 
of its lands produce a very fine quality of wheat, the syndi- 
cate proposes planting a vast area of this lereal during the 
present season. The local superintendent, A onzo Hicks, Esq., 
has put several saw mills into operation alid is getting out 
furniture and construction timber for transprtation. 

The Pacific slope is partially watered bv four streams, or 
rivers, which in the dry months contain but litle water. They 
are the Guascaran, Nacaome, Oholuteca and Black rivers. The 
latter is the boundary line between Hondunis and Nicaragua. 
On the Atlantic coast nature has been more polific of her gifts 
in this direction, for besides numerous littlestreams that ir- 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 165 

rig' ate the country there are several navigable rivers. The 
TJlua, Chimalicon, Blanco, Sauta Barbara, Patook, Stephens 
and the Wanks are fine rivers whicb, with their branches, drain 
the entire Atlantic slope. The Patook river is navigated by 
the boats, of the Tabor synflicate,'the Ulna by the Sheers com- 
panj^, and the Tinto by the Trujillo and Puerto Oortez Eail- 
road Co. 

Comyagua, the former capital city, contains about 8,000 in- 
habitants and is situated in a vast plain watered by the Com- 
yagua river. This latter contains a perennial supply of the 
precious fluid, but it is only navigable in restricted localities. 

Tegucigalpa, the present capital of the republic, is situated 
on the edge of a wide valley, close to the base of a tall moun- 
tain range. It contains 12,000 inhabitants and boasts several 
imposing churches and edifices. It is the centre of a rich min- 
eral region. Its wealthier residents are all engaged — more or 
less — in ininiug operations. 

While there are numerous centres of population of from 
3,000 to 6,000 inhabitants in the republic the two aboved named 
are the principal cities. Santa Barbara, the capital of the 
same name, may also be considered as important, as it lies in 
the centre ol a rich mineral and agricultural region. 



. CHAPTER Vm. 

The Mmiug Industry — Recent American Investments — The Chicaao Syn- 
dicate — Silver Placers— The Kraffc and Osgood Diggings— Tabor's 
Navigation and Minins' Enterprises on the Patook River — The Rich- 
est Miiierfil Region on the Continent. 

Within the past fiv^e years the miniug iudustry of Honduras 
has been partially revived, and several American, French and 
native companies have begun the development of various val- 
uable deposits. Ex-Presideut Soto is at the head of a syndi- 
cate which is working- several mines in the Yuscarau district. 
A Chicago company is developing the v<ist Potosi mineral 
property in the Department of Santa Barbara. A French 
association is taking ore out of the Santa Cruz deposit, and a 
New York company has made considerable progress towards 
developing the Camalote mine. A Colorado syndicate is in 
possession of a most valuable mineral property at, or near, 
Juticalpa, while Messrs. Collyer, Conners and Don Abelardo 
Zelaya are working profitable mines near Tegucigalpa on their 
own account. Gen. Bogran, the President of the Republic, is 
the possessor of several paying placer gold, and, strange to 
say, one placer silver mine. Edward Kraft owns some six 
square miles of placer diggings that were formerly abandoned 
by the Spaniards. This valuable gold deposit was rediscov- 
ered by him, IsTumerous natives are operating placer gold 
mines in a quiet and unostentatious manner in different local- 
ities of the republic. 

During the three hundred years the Spanish crown held 
Tropic America in subjection, Honduras was esteemed one of 
the most valuable of its transatlantic possessions. ^STuraerous 
profitable silver and gold mines were opened and worked, 
while notwithstanding the badness of the roads and the prim- 
itive methods employed to extract precious metals from the 
ore, each mule train that wended its way to either coast car- 
ried large sums in silver and gold in bars. 

But besides the inexhaustible ledges of silver and gold- 
bearing rock that seam the mountain sides, vast plains lying- 



HEPUBLIC OF HONDUEAS. 167 



between the principal rivers,* and tbe beds of the numberless 
smaller streams and mountain torrents, were found to contain 
paying quantities of gold dust. Many of these placer diggings 
were worked by the avaricious Spaniards, but a majority of 
them are still virgin, although their existence is known to 
most of the natives who live in their vicinity. The Depart- 
ment of Olancho may be regarded as a vast placer mine, while 
there are many other localities in the republic where still 
richer placer deposits have lately been found. 

Unlike California and Lower California, Sonora and Chihu- 
ahua, Honduras is reticulated by numerous rivers and streams 
of water admirably adapted to gold-washing purposes. Trav- 
elers seldom take the trouble to carry water with them, for 
every two or three miles of their journey they pass perennial 
streams of the i)recious fluid. The placers of Honduras can 
therefore be worked at a minimum cost. 

There can be no reasonable doubt entertained as to the 
value of the mineral resources of this little republic. All that 
has hitherto retarded their development has been the lack of 
capital and enterprise. Both these wants have lately been 
filled. Foreign capital is investing heavily in the mines al- 
ready known, while American enterprise is pushing into the 
neglected mountain districts, where a number of sturdy expe- 
rienced prospectors are engaged in searching for hitherto un- 
discovered mineral deposits. 

One of the most prolific gold-bearing regions in Central 
America is found near the centre of the extensive Department 
of Olancho. The cream of these placers, consisting of a well 
watered locality containing sixty-seven square miles, is owned 
by an enterprising Chicago gentleman named Dr. Osgood. 
The doctor bought the property from a Cuban prospector, 
who had located the mines but failed in forming a company to 
work them. 

In the spring of the past year, Mr. Osgood succeeded in 
overcoming the usual difficulties that all pioneers of mining 
enterprises always seem destined to encounter, and formed a 
company to carry out his vast plans. He first went to Hon- 
duras and carefully examined his property. Several experts 



168 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. 

accompanied him and thorouglily prospected the locality. 
Their reports were in the highest degree favorable, and might 
be termed unanimously so, for the lowest estimate, of the yield 
of the gold bearing soil, was forty -five cents to the cubic yard 
of earth. 

Before he returned to Chicago the doctor organized several 
working parties who are at present engaged in taking out 
paying quantities of gold dust. When the necessary placer 
working machinery is on the ground and in operation, the 
work will be carried out on a grand scale. From the knowl- 
edge now possessed of this enterprise it seems destined to 
become one of the most valuable mining properties south of 
the Rio G-rande. 

The Tabor syndicate, mentioned above, has received valu- 
able mineral and navigation franchises from the Honduranean 
G-overnment. One concession grants them the exclusive privi- 
lege of the navigation of the Patook river, for a long period 
of years. The president of this company is Senator Tabor, 
of Denver, Colorado. The general manager is Captain Bur- 
rows, a gentlemen well known in the mining circles of Colo- 
rado, Arizona and E^ew Mexico. The superintendent of the 
several camps is Mr. Alonzo Hicks, of Flushing, Long Island. 

The syndicate has placed two little steamboats on thePatook 
river and is busily engaged in removing the obstructions that 
impede navigation in the upper part of this water course. 
Captain Burrows is sanguine regarding the ultimate success 
of his navigation enterprise and has announced that, in a few 
months, the river will be navigable for his steamboats for 150 
miles from its mouth, 

Besides this enterprise, the Tabor syndicate is busily en- 
gaged in developing several valuable mining properties. Mr. 
Hicks writes that he has already got out 600 tons of fine ore, 
which he will immediately proceed to mill. Captain Burrows 
has purchased, and sent to the locality, all the mining ma- 
chinery necessary for present operations, so this entire grand 
enterprise, in all its different branches, may safely be pro- 
nounced already on a promising footing. 

As an indication of the great and valuable mineral resour- 
ces possessed by the republic, the following extract from the 



EEPtlBLIC OF HONDURAS. 109 

official report of Dr. Fritzgaertner, the goverumerit geologist 
iiikI mineralogist, may prove interesting to the American 
render : 

" The government of Honduras has adoj^ted similar mining 
hiws to those of the United States, in their main features. 
Mining })roperty is not taxed, and there is no duty on the ex- 
])ortation of ores or bullion. The government'will tender all 
assistnnce in its power for the transportation of machinery, and 
will admit it free of importation duties. 

iSIative gold in nuggets, scales and dust is found in numerous 
placer grounds, also in fissure veins, and occurs often in the 
form of wire gold. It is likewise found in eombiriatidn with 
ores of copper, iron and tellurium. Platinum is found in nu- 
merous river beds in scales and in grains. Silver is very abun- 
dant, and exists principally in the following forms : Native 
silver in plates and wires, chloride and bromide of silver, ar- 
gentile, silver glance, ruby silver, argentiferous grey copper 
and galena. 

Tin is known to me in paying quantities in two localities. 
Bismuth and antimoisy are also very frequently found. Cop- 
per has been discovered in many parts of the^ Republic. The 
quality is excellent and the quantity inexhaustible, while the 
ore, as a rule, contains a very large percentage of silver and 
gold. Lead is found in large deposits and fissures. This metal 
is not worked for its intrinsic value, but only in case the ore 
contains gold and silver in paying quantities. Whole moun- 
tains of fine magnetic iron exist both near the coast and in the 
interior. The natives use clean and fine ore directly in their 
forges. The iron produced is of a very superior quality and 
greatly resembles steel in all its characteristics. Coal is very 
abundant on the Atlantic coast, near the river Ulua, the quality 
being a semi-bituminous kind. As the quantity seems to be 
quite considerable, this mineral will, in the near future, become 
a valuable article of commerce along the Caribbean coast. 
There are numerous old mines of historical fame, formerly 
worked by the Spaniards. There are in Honduras a great 
many abandoned mines which were worked, as far as the water 
level, by the conquerors, while local traditions speak of the 



170 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

fabulous suras taken from many of them. In tins paper I will 
take the provinces in their order and give a list of the most 
noted of these old workings. 

Province of Ohaluteca; the extreme southern department of 
Honduras, contains many deposits of high grade silver ores. 
The most famous of the old Spanish mines, in this section, are 
the Corpus, the Guyal and the St. Martin. The province of 
G-racias, in the southwestern portion of Honduras, possesses 
a most salubrious climate. The ore of the Coloal copper mines 
contains 50 per cent of copper and from 50 to 200 ounces of 
silver per ton. The historical mine of Sacramento contains 
chloride of silver in large quantities. The district of Evan- 
dique is known for its fine opals, which command high prices 
in London. 

The province of Tegucigalpa, abounds in fissure veins. Al- 
most everywhere old Spanish workings are encountered ; nearly 
all are abandoned and partly caved in. The most noted mining 
localities are Yuscaran, with about 120 mines including the 
once famous " G-uavabillas " which sixty years ago produced 
$400,000 in six mouths, and " La Veta de Paraiso " " Gruada- 
lupe " " Mercedes," " El E-oble," etc. The veins at Yuscaran 
average from three to six feet in thickness, and the ores are 
all high grade. 

ISTot far from Yuscaran is located San Antonia, a once cele- 
brated mining camp. It contains four horizontal beds of ar- 
gentiferous galena and carbonate of lead. The four layers are 
stratified, lying one above the other. Another rich camp is 
" Santa Lucia," with many old mines, of which I will mention 
only " La MinaG-rande." This vein is in many places ten feet 
wide, and is composed of colespar and galena, with chlorides 
and sulphides of silver with copper. Two other well known 
mines, at present worked b^^ natives, are " Veta Azul," and 
" La Mina de San Bartolo," both containing chloride of silver. 
The mine of Guasacaran, with a productive silver ore deposit, 
is well worthy of notice. 

The province of Oomayagua forms the centre of Honduras. 
The Honduras Interoceanic Railroad will pass through this 
section and thus render some of its mining districts more ac- 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 171 

C(^ssible. The principal of these are "Aramaciaa," "Laiiteri- 
que," " Las Piedras," and "La Paz." Tin ore was fouud by 
me iu this province in combination with copper. On this 
section ]nauy old dumps exist which contain thousands of 
tons of valuable ore. 

Province of Olancho — a district of 11,000 square miles, but 
with very few inhabitants. In this district are numerous 
placers containiug gold in paying quantities. Olancho is the 
historical ground on which Gil Grouzalez and his followers 
reaped their golden treasures. 

The mountains of Olancho have never been practically ex- 
plored, although numerous veins of gold quartz have already 
been discovered. 

While traveling through the province of Yoro, I fouud shot 
gold in man;v water courses. The latest information I have 
received is that gold gravel has been discovered in this local- 
ity that pays one and a half ounce per day, to the pan workers. 

The province of Santa Barbara borders on the Atlantic. 
Grold placers have recently been discovered that have attracted 
considerable attention abroad. This auriferous ground is near 
Quimistan and extends to the bay of Ysabal, Guatemala. 

There are in the valley of Quimistan, three valuable mines; 
Santa Cruz, Camalote and Monte Cristo. They are being 
actively worked by foreign companies and will shortly have 
fifty stamps iu operation. The gold ore is of a free milling 
character and is both abundant and fairly rich. 

During my sojourn in Honduras I was authorized to organ- 
ize the National Museum. I exhibited in the rooms of the 
museum, specimens from 580 different localities, which were 
forwarded to me or collected personally. A list of mines, both 
ancient and modern, showed 410 working. About sixty mines 
are at present operated, fifty of which are worked in a most 
primitive and wasteful manner. 

The Rosario Mining Company, of ITew York, has lately 
taken possession of an old mine and will, without doubt, re- 
ceive large returns if the property is i>roperly managed. By 
order of ex-president Soto, I took charge, for two months, of 
the Lonia Larga mine. It was caving badly at the time and 



172 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



was partly filled with water. There were no ladders and their 
place was supplied by poles, with notches cut in them, the 
ore haying to be carried in rawhide sacks from the bottom 
of the mine. The result of my two months' work was gold 
and silver bullion to the amount of S45,000, at an outlay of 
$15,000. 

The foregoing lines clearly demonstrate the fact that in 
former days mining was carried on to a very considerable ex- 
tent in Honduras. We know from the reports of tljc conquer- 
ors that immense deposits of the precious metals were brought 
to light in that country. The old excavations left by them 
verify their glowing accounts. The records of the mints of 
Guatemala and Tegucigalpa show the amount of $6,004,242 
as being coined during the period between the years 1705 and 
1825, from bullion reduced in Honduras. We must remember 
that this was only a small portion of the actual gold and sil- 
ver product of that period, as the greater i>art of it found its 
way into the marts of the world as bullion iu bars. 

After the victorious war of independence against Spain, the 
Spanish aristocracy, the then owners of these rich mines, left 
Honduras, and their- property reverted to the government. A 
number of their mines were taken up by the natives, but from 
want of knowledge and lack of industry and capital, together 
with their crude and v$rasteful way of reducing the ores, the 
profits were small, and they gradually abandoned the claims, 
or most of them. 

At present a moiety of the natives are engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, and consequently a large number of valuable 
mines are lying idle. The introduction of modern methods of 
mining and reducing, with a small amount of capital, would 
certainly bear good results. 

The attention of the mining world is already again being 
directed toward Mexico, and will no doubt soon get down to 
Honduras, which will in a short time become one of the 
world's greatest mining fields. 

In conclusion, I would state that in my capacity of geolo- 
gist of the government of Honduras, I visited all parts of the 
country and was. thereby furnished an excellent opportunity 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 173 

ot examining most of this abandoned mining property, to- 
gether with many localities where placer diggings and gold 
and olher mines were known to exist, but which as yet have 
never been even located or appropriated by mining corpora- 
tions." 

The greater portion of the grand valley of San Pedro Snla 
is as yet unoccupied. Its fertile soil is covered by immense 
tracts of cahoon palms, mahogany, cedar and ceiba trees, and 
the winding streams that water it are the home of the wild 
fowl that nightly come in from the sea. 

President Bogran is anxious to see this vast tract of land 
settled by foreign emigrants, and has offered ever^^ induce- 
ment to heads of families and young couples to make their 
home in the country. Land will be furnished all who really 
desire to cultivate it. Every moral and material aid that can 
be extended them, emigrants may expect from his govern- 
ment, while the Honduras people will be giad to welcome 
them as fellow-citizens. 

About fifteen leagues — forty-five miles — to the westward of 
San Pedro, is situated a large sheet of water called lake Yojoa. 
The country surrounding this lake is not only remarkably 
beautiful but its soil is fertile and its climate is that of per- 
petual spring. A portion of the lands of this locality are at 
the disposition of emigrants, for as this situation is central 
and near the route of the proposed interoceanic railroad, 
President Bogran is anxious to see it occupied as soon as 
possible. 

The short space allowed by the plan of this little work pre- 
vents the author from entering into further details regarding 
the vast, the varied and the valuable forest, agricultural and 
mineral resources of this truly wonderful tropic republic. If 
it is impossible to describe their infinite variety and estimate 
their value, it is none the less impossible to exaggerate their 
future importance in the commercial world. 

In company with its sister republic Guatemala, Honduras is 
blessed with a truly liberal system of government. Gen. Luis 
Bogran, the President of the country is one of the most brilliant 
young statesmen as yet produced by Central America, and he 



174 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 



labors earnestly to bring about the thorough social and material 
regeneration of his country. He has wisely eschewed the tra- 
ditions, the sentiments and the customs engen(Iered»by 350 
years of Spanish misrule and five decades of anarchy and rev- 
olution ', he ignores the sullen system of conservatism en- 
grafted upon Government methods by nearly 400 years of 
theocratic rule ; and has boldly taken the precepts of Morozan, 
Ocampo and Juarez, as his guides in the path of reform he has 
marked out and entered. His life is exceedingly precious to 
his country, for if he lives until the expiration of his term of 
office, he will surely accomplish the regeneration of his country. 

As it may be some time before the Interoceanic Railroad is 
constructed, Government has given a franchise to certain 
Americans to build a line from Trujillo to Tegucigalpa, a dis- 
tance of nearly 200 miles. This road, in conjunction with the 
McOonnico system, will open a vast stretch of territory to en- 
terprise and commerce. As the latter will eventually connect 
with the Guatemala ifortheru Railroad, the capital of the land 
of the Quiche will be placed in regular, but somewhat round- 
about, communication with Tegucigalpa. 

With its vasts forests of precious woods, its fertile soil which 
returns such prolific crops, its tall mountains laden with rich 
mineral deposits, its wide plains where the bed-rock has col- 
lected and upheld the particles of gold that for countless cen- 
turies have washed down from the adjacent mountains, with its 
rapid rivers whose beds are impregnated with golden sand, 
Honduras is not only the most promising division of Central 
America, but it is probably the most valuable mineral territory 
for its extent on the planet. 



SAN SALVADOR. 



Plan of this Work — The Two rirand Divisions of Central America — Diffi- 
cnlfcy of Coinmnnicatiou Between the Two Oceans — Conquest of San 
Salvador— Spanish Rej^ime — [ndependence— War of 1876 — Eegenera- 
tion of the Country — Imports — Exports — Industries — Manufactures — 
Cities — Seaports — Projected Railroad System. 

The object of this little work is" to present to the people of 
this section and of the Mississippi valley a brief account of 
the natural resources of Central America. For that reason 
the Caribbean coast and the territories contiguous to it, or in 
communication with its ports by railroads, wagon roads or 
Jjridle paths, as the case may be, have been accorded as much 
space as the plan of the wort permitted, while the Pacific 
coast, with its superior ports, its wide cultivated savanas and 
its industrious and prosperous people, has been little more 
than briefly mentioned. The author's reason for the adoption 
of this plan is obvious, ^ew Orleans (and also the Missis- 
sippi valley through this port) is in direct communication 
with the centres of the commerce of the Caribbean coast 
by the Oteri, Macheca, Muller & Co., Miller, and C. A. Fish 
& Co.'s lines of steamers. The first three lines commu- 
nicate with the ports of the republics of Guatemala and 
Honduras, and also those of British Honduras, every few 
days, while the Miller and 0. A. Fish lines touch at the ports 
of Nicaragua, the Mosquite Reservation and the Republic of 
Costa Rica, every month. The steamship Lucy P. Miller ex- 
tends her trips to Aspinvval] (Colon), Isthmus of Panama. 

Central America, from the boundary line that separates its 
territory from Mexico, on the north, to the Isthmus of Panama, 
may be divided into two almost equal portions ; which are 
known as the Atlantic — or Caribbean —and Pacific slopes. 
These two grand divisions are virtually separated by an im- 



17G HEPUBLIC OF SAN SALYADOR. 



meiise mouiitaiu chain called the Central Cordillera. As the 
mountains are tall, rugged and very broken, the roads that 
lead over them are mere bridle paths, and. for a great portion 
of the year, are almost impassible. The difficulty of trans- 
porting effects over the Cordillera, and the high rate of freight 
tariff that in consequence obtains, has virtually resulted in a 
commercial separation between the two slopes, reiulering them 
almost totally independent of each other as far as traffic is 
concerned. This situation will continue until railroads, that 
connect the two oceans, are constructed. 

The Eepublic of San Salvador, although one of the most 
enlightened, prosj)erous and wealth}' of the numerous Latin 
American Illations, as it lies exclusively on the Pacitic coast, 
and is cut off", by the mountain range above mentioned, from 
all commercial communication with the Caribbean seaboard, 
excites compa,tatively little interest in the American ])eople, 
east of the Eocky mountains. While it carries on a profitable 
and constantly augmenting commerce with San Francisco 
and Europe, per steamers to Panama, thence across the isth- 
mus by rail, and then again by steamers to the east, from the 
very nature of things has no communication with l!^ew Orleans, 
nor does a dollar's worth of trade with our port. 'A mention 
of this republic then will suffice for the plan of this work. 

The history of San Salvador, from the epoch of the conquest 
of the country by tlie Spaniards, is incorporated with that of 
the rest of Central America. The first mention of it we find 
in the archives of Hispano-Americo-Central History is, that 
the first explorers tound the country thickly settled b}' a 
powerful and industrious race of indigenes who were excellent 
miners and most successful agriculturists. The}' were known 
as the Pipiles, were divided into several nations and were . 
ruled by wealthy and powerful ca<tiques — kings. 

As soon as he had subdued the Cakchiquel Kingdom of 
Guatemala, the intrepid but sanguinary conquistador, Pedro 
de Alvarado, advanced against the city of Atehuan, one of 
the most eastern centres of population of the great and power- 
ful Kingdom ot Cuzcaltan, which comprehended a great por- 
tion of modern Salvador. The king and nobles had made 



REPUBLIC OP SAN SALTADOR. 177 



extensive preparations for the reception of the Spanish com- 
mander as ,a friend. At Atehuan, Alvarado was met by a 
commission of nobles who were charged to offer him obedience 
and to acknowledge themselves as vassals of the Spanish 
crown. 

The conqueror immediately i^roceeded to the capital where 
he and his followers were received in the kindest and most 
hospitable manner. G-ood quarters and an abundance of excel- 
lent provisions were provided, and the king came in person to 
pay his guest a ceremonious visit. But the infamous and un- 
grateful conduct of the Spaniards and the ravages committed 
b}^ their auxiliaries soon drove the disappointed and ill treated 
natives to desperation. They deserted their beautiful city, 
and fled to the woods and mountains. The poor peoi)Ie cap- 
lured by the conquerors were immediately branded and sold 
as slaves. 

Alvarado sent envo^^s to the fugitives, with a threatening 
message ordering them to return immediately, and acknow- 
ledge vassalage to the monarch of Spain. The king justly in- 
dignant at the treatment his people had met with at the hands 
of those whom they had received as guests, answered that he 
knew no other monarch than himself and neither was, nor ever 
would be, vassal to any one ; that if he wanted him and his 
people he must come and seek them, and he would be received 
on the points of their sharp lances. The general sent an ex- 
pedition against them, which was defeated with terrible loss. 
Eleven horses were slain in this combat. Alvarado, upon the 
return of his shattered forces, resorted to pacific measures. He 
sent another envoy " with a honeyed message," but the king 
refused to receive him. He then marched against '' the rebels" 
with all his forces but was unable to subdue them. Irritated 
at this unexpected turn of affairs Alvarado instituted "a legal 
process'^^ against the fugitives. They were declared in a state 
of rebellion against their natural sovereign, the king of Spain. 
The king and principal nobles were sentenced to be hung, while 
the whole population of the country were condemned to be 
l^ublicly branded and sold as slaves. 

He continued seventeen days at Ouzcatlan, but was unable 
to come to terms with the people who refused to treat on any 



178 REPUBLIC OF S4N SALVADOR. 

pretext whatever with the ferocious invaders of their country. 
As the rigor of the season prevented further military opera- 
tions in the mountains, he was compelied to retreat, deferring- 
for a period the conquest of this rich and populous country. 

In the year 1525, the Spanish commander sent another ex- 
pedition against the Cuzcatlan king, who had returned with 
his people to his capital. The natives, who foolishly encoun- 
tered the invaders in the open field where the cavalry could 
manoeuvre with facility, were defeated in several partial com- 
bats and, at length, in a pitched battle. The conquerors entered 
Cuzcatlan in triumph and immediately carried out the san- 
guinary provisions dictated by Alvarado during his first expe- 
dition. 

In a short while the whole territory was entirely subdued 
by the indefatigable, but ruthless conquerors, who divided the 
lands among them, while the natives, like so many cattle, were 
branded and parceled out with the soil they were forced to 
cultivate. 

In 1522, the territory which is now comprised within the 
limits of the modern republic of San Salvador contained a pop- 
ulation of niore than 3,000,000 industrious and contented na- 
tives ; some of the tribes had elected and deposed their chiefs 
or caciques at will, and it was only when the immediate an- 
cestor of the king who so gallantly repulsed Alvarado's first 
attack, conquered the various tribes and united them under 
his dominian that an aboriginal feudal system was established 
in this locality. 

For three hundred long years San Salvador continued a 
Spanish province. The few aborigines that remained, in the 
capacity of serfs or peons, tilled the fertile soil or toiled in the 
mines situated deep in the interior of the giant mountains. 
Meanwhile the deep hatred the natives bore their oppressors 
was inherited by the Ladinos, or that mixed race which sprang 
from the intercourse of the conquered and the conquerors. 
This sentiment was entertained in a greater degree, if pos- 
sible, by the Creoles or pure blooded descendants of the Span- 
iards, who treated their children born in the province of 
Spanish mothers as inferior beings to themselves and the. 
other fortunate mortals who first saw the light in Old Spain. 



REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 179 



When the daj of reckoning came, the Indians, Ladinos and 
Creoles united and bitterly avenged the three centuries of 
opj)ression they and their ancestors had groaned under; and 
after a series of sanguinary conflicts, the Spaniards were 
mostly driven out of the country. 

During the long years of anarchy, revolution and civil strife 
subsequent to the declaration of independence, San Salvador 
suffered all the ills and misfortunes consequent upon such a 
situation. The mines were deserted, and in the course of time 
even the localities of the most valuable were forgotten. Com- 
merce, both external and internal, was paralyzed, while the 
little traffic that yet survived was almost entirely in the hands 
of strangers and aliens. Agriculture was but faintly carried 
on, and a thousand flourishing plantations, farms and ranches 
were abandoned. 

This unfortunate condition continued until the year 1876, 
when Barrios, the reformer of Guatemala, the chief of the 
Liberal party of Central America, could no longer shut his 
eyes to the retrograde policy that swayed the administration 
of President Vaile, and demanded an interview with that func- 
tionary. The parties met at Ohingo and formed a plan for the 
regeneration of San Salvador and Honduras. But Yalle had 
no intention of carrying out the compact. He merely wished 
to gain time to prepare for war, which was soon afterwards 
declared. 

In the spring of the same year Barrios entered Salvador at 
the head of a large, well-armed and finely disciplined army. 
He totally defeated the Salvadorean forces and entered the 
capital in triumph. Thus the little republic was entirely at 
his mercy, while the Liberals of Honduras, weary of anarchy 
and confusion, were ready to enter into any arrangement he 
chose to propose to them. Then Gen, Barrios might have 
realized the ambitious dream of his life, the reunion of the old 
Central American republic. But he threw away the opportu- 
nity, and after pacif;ying Honduras and binding Salvador to 
him by a treaty of alliance, he withdrew his victorious troops 
from Salvadorean territory and returned in triumph to his 
capital. 



180 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 



Since that epoch Sau Salvador has been indirectly under 
his dominion, while his potent influence is felt throughout the 
wide area of Ceutral America. But Salvador has greatly 
gained by the change. Ko revolution can change her tran- 
quility while the protecting arm of Barrios extends over her. 
In fact, the very political existence of the great Liberal de- 
pends upon the situation in San Salvador, for in the very na- 
ture of things Salvador must either be a friendly and allied 
power or a conquered province. Barrios cannot for a moment 
permit the existence in Salvador of a dominant party which 
is, or might become, inimical to his interests. It is probable, 
therefore, that while he lives his voice will have paramount 
influence in the administration of the public affairs of this re- 
public. 

There seem to be but few persons in this country or in 
Europe who realJy understand the political status in Central 
America. The subject is worthy the study and attention of 
American statesmen, who, in case of further complications in 
Central America, should be better posted on the political sit- 
uation that obtains in that to them almost terra incognita. 

San Salvador is the smallest of the Central American re- 
publiciS. It is bounded on the north and east by Guatemala 
and Honduras, and on the south and west by Honduras and 
the Pacific ocean. It possesses an area of 71526 square miles, 
or 4,624,640 square acres. The population is somewhat more 
than 600,000; that is, if we may believe the assertions of 
prominent Salvadorean statesmen. It now possesses a repub- 
lican form of government, although the spirit of conservatism 
is indicated in the constitution, which prohibits suffrage to 
persons of no stated occupation and to servants. The execu- 
tive, with the title of President, is chosen by popular vote — 
with the restrictions specified by the constitution — and serves 
for a term of four years. The Senate is composed of twelve 
members and the Houses of Deputies of twenty-four. Com- 
plete toleration in religious matters is guaranteed, but the 
constitution is not as liberal as that enjoyed by the sister Re- 
public of Honduras. The expenditure of the government is 
somewhat less than the revenues, while the national debt, 
which is now very small, is being gradually extinguished. 



REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 181 



Salvador is one of the most flourishing of the Latin Ameri- 
can nations. Its commerce, both internal and external, is 
constantly augmenting. In 1883 its exports amounted to 
somewhat more than $5,000,000, and its imports to $3,500,000. 
The principal exports are coffee and indigo, but sugar is also 
exported to a small extent, while rubber, gums, skins, hides, 
tan bark, etc., are shipped to California and Europe. In fact, 
England enjoys more than half the foreign commerce of the 
republic. 

Quite a lively traffic is carried on between Salvador and the 
neighboring republics. Honduras sends vast quantities of 
tobacco in the leaf, mats and straw hats to her sister republic, 
while the latter exi)orts coffee, indigo and certain gums to the 
markets of the former. Gruatemala receives a large annual 
amount of cattle from her thriving neighbor, and in return 
sends back to its markets numberless articles which find a 
ready sale. 

The country is corrugated by numerous mountain spurs that 
s]>read out fan like, from the great range that divides Central 
America. In several districts along the coast, the tall foot- 
hills come down to the very ocean that bathes with its long 
rolling billows their rocky bases, while wide verdant plains 
and beautiful tropic valleys are burdened with prolific crops of 
indigo, sugar-cane and nopals, whose pale green leaves give 
life and food to the purple cochineal which, even comparatively 
re(!ently, was such a valuable article of commerce. 

The cultivation of indigo has become the principal industry 
of the country. Experience has proved it to be a prolific crop 
and a great deal of money is invested in its production. It is 
prepared for export on the haciendas and is principally shipped 
from the port of Acajutla, in sailing ships to Europe via Gape 
Horn, and per steamers north to San Francisco, Cal., and south 
to Panama, where it is transported across the isthmus to Colon 
and from thence transhipped to the Atlantic seaboard and 
Europe. 

The cultivation of coffee is fast assuming imposing propor- 
tions. It is true that last year Guatemala shipped more of the 
precious staple than either Salvador or Costa Rica, but it is 



182 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 



no less true that the quantity cultivated in either o( the two 
last named republics far exceeds that produced by Gruatemala. 
The higher regions, where the table lands spread out into wide 
expanses between the bases of the giant mountains, and attain 
an altitude of between 2000 and 3500 feet above the level of 
the sea, are the chosen localities for the cultivation of this val- 
uable article of commerce. In those fertile districts, where 
the cool bracing winds that career down from the summits of 
the contiguous mountains, encounter the hot breezes of the 
tropics which are tempered by its refreshing currents, the 
coffee plant attains its highest degree of productiveness, while 
the dews which nightly fall heavily in these regions enfold in 
their humid embrace the younger plants and refresh and in 
vigorate thera after the hot ordeal they have passed through 
during the long tropic day. For the coffee plant is ranked 
among the most tender of all the numerous specimens of the 
troi^ic flora. After it is placed in the ground it requires con- 
stant and perfect protection from the intense heat of the sun. 
It thrives best in damp places and under the grateful shade of 
neighboring trees, while it is invariably planted, on the At- 
latic slope, between rows of the huge leaved plantains or 
bananas. 

In Western G-uatemala and in Salvador, the trees are set out 
during the rainy- season and generally, by the time the dry 
months set in, have acquired sufficient strength to live through 
that trying period. Yet sometimes before the wet period ar- 
rives the young plants assume a sickly yellowish appearance 
and they must be irrigated with the greatest regularity, or 
they will certainly die. The coffee industry in 1881, was re- 
markably prosperous and more than 20,000,000 pounds were 
shipped from the ports of the re])ublic. This quantity repre- 
sented somewhat more than $2,000,000 in the currency of the 
country. 

The low price lately obtained for the article, in foreign mar- 
kets, has had a depressing effect on this industry. The plant- 
ers, for the last three years, have done little towards increasing 
the acreage of cultivation, and have, in a measure, turned 
their attention and energy to the production of other crops ' 



KBPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 183 



.Thus indigo planting has received a new impulse, while stock 
raising lias become a promising industry. 

Althf»ugh there are several famous mining localities in the 
re])ublic, agriculture has always been the principal occupation 
of the i)eople. Shortly after the conqu^^st the Spaniards ex- 
tracted a large amount of silver and gold dust from the rocks, 
river beds and gulches, which they of course sent to the mother 
country. But the mining industry soon flagged, for on the 
warm, sultry Pacific slope, the natives quickly died under the 
lashes of their cruel task-masters, and the Spaniards, unable 
to endure the hardships entailed upon the prosecution of this 
industry, were forced to abandon it almost entirely. 

The tropic fruit traffic has excited but little interest in San 
Salvador. The republic lies too far from the great Pacific 
market to render the shipment of bananas, plantains and 
oranges, either safe or profitable. As their is no demand, 
there exists no reason to j)roduce a supply, so this branch of 
industry is limited to furnishing the domestic market. 

Quite a profitable trade has been done in dye woods and 
furniture timter since the regeneration of the country under 
the Zaldiva regime. Ships frequent even the little out of-the- 
way roadsteads that indent the coast, and receive on board 
valuable cargoes of precious woods. The ports of the republic 
again witness the arrival of vessels destined to carry on this 
traffic. They generally bring outward freights of European 
mannfactiire for the supply of the interior markets. 

The improvement of the breed of cattle, and increase of 
the herds, has lately received increased attention from the 
agriculturalists. Vast stretches of territory which had lain 
idle and fallow since the epoch of the conquest, and fer- 
tile mountain slopes and foothills that had never been dis- 
turbed by the hand of man since the primitive inhabitants 
were exterminated by their oppressors, have lately been trans- 
formed into cattle walks, and furnish vast herds with excellent 
pasturage. President Zaldiva has offered premiums for speci- 
meus of improved breeds of native stock. The farmers and 
stock raisers have entered into a friendly emulation, while 
Uopes are entertained that it will not be long before cattle 



184 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR, 



raising will be considered one of the principal industries ol 
the country. 

There exist several llourisliing cotton factories in different 
localities which turn out a coarse cotton cloth. There are 
many kinds of domestic manufactures, which of course are not 
known to the outside world. 

The wagon roads and bridle paths of this republic are by far 
the best constructed and kept in repair that can be iound in 
Central America. The roads that connect the principal cities 
with the coast, and with each other, are either paved or mmt, 
adamized, while those of the interior are kept in repair by the 
municipalities they traverse. 

Some three j^ears ago the Huntington syndicate of Califor- 
nia obtained concessions;;vrhich virtually put all the projected 
railroad system of the republic in their power. They have 
surveyed the principal lines and have done considerable work 
on some of them. 

There are numerous tine cities, towns and villages within 
the boundaries of the little republic. San Salvador is the 
capital. It contains many imposing churches and public and 
private edifices. It is not situated far from the coast, to 
which it is as yet unconnected by rail. 

Three principal seaports, two of which may be considered 
mere roadsteads, are the receiving depots for the foreign traffic 
of the country. They are La Union, La Libertad and Aca- 
jutla. The latter was founded about the same time as San 
Jose de G-uatemala, and carries on quite a promising com- 
merce. 

Altogether, San Salvador may be looked upon as a promis- 
ing, progressive and enterprising little republic. But it can 
never, until both its own and the Honduranean and G-uate- 
maltecan railroad systems are completed, hold direct commer- 
cial communications with this city and section. 



NICARAGUA. 



CHAPTER I. 

Belief in a Natural Passage Between the Two Oceana — Gil Gonzalez' 
Journey Through Costa Eica and Nicaragua — lie visibs Nicoya and 
Nicaro — Discovery of the Great Eakes — Expedition of Cordoba — Gra- 
nadSi, Leon and Segovia Founded — Cordoba Declares Against Pedra- 
rias— Is Defeated and Executed— Death of Gil Gonzalez and Pedrarias — 
Cruel Treatment of the Natives by the Spaniards. 

The Emperor Charles V. at the very commencement of his 
reign, evinced the greatest anxiety to know the exact where- 
abouts of the much talked of strait that was said to connect 
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The conquest of Mexico 
once achieved, he ordered his victorious captain, Hernando 
Cortez, to send expeditions along either coast, both north and 
south, to search for the much longed-for passage. Pedrarias, 
the Spanish governor of Darien, received the same peremptory 
orders and at once set about carrying them into effect. 

About this time a certain Spanish cahallero named Gil Gon- 
zalez de Avila, arrived at Darien. He had been commissioned 
by the emperor to fit out an expedition to explore the Pacific 
coast for a distance of 200 leagues. Pedrarias sent with him as 
pilot, Andres I^ino, who had accompanied Hurtado when the 
latter discovered the gulf of San Lucar. Gil set sail the 21st 
of January, 1521, from the gulf of San Miguel. 

After a voyage of about 100 leagues to the northwest, he 
discovered that his vessels had sustained some damage and 
hauled them out for repair. He took advantage of this cir- 
cumstance to penetrate into the interior with 100 infantry and 
four horsemen. But he suffered terribly. The country was 
marshy and overflowed and he was compelled to cross several 
rivers on rafts. 

During this adventurous expedition he passed through nu- 
merous Indian villages belonging to a cacique named Mcoya. 

13 



180 REPUBLTC OF NICARAGUA 

•The latter informed Gil tbat the iinrae of the country was 
Orotina, and that some distance farther to the north he would 
find several large lakes of fresh water. 2!Ticoya consented to 
submit to the ceremony of baptism, and his example was fol- 
lowed by 6000 of his countrymen and vassals. The Spanish 
commander having made many inquiries regarding gold and 
where deposits of it might be found, the cacique presented 
him with a quantity of the precious metal that amounted to 
$60,000, together with six goo(i sized idols, also of pure gold. 

When his followers were rested and in condition to proceed, 
Gil again took the field accompanied by porters and interpre- 
ters, and shortly afterwards arrived in the country of the 
Niquiriuos. This people had made preparations to attack 
him, but the interpreters sent with the expedition by Xicoya 
assured them of the good intentions and peaceful disposition 
of the Spaniards, so they threw down their arms and received 
the strangers with shouts of welcome. 

Kicarao, the cacique of the country, a much more powerful 
l)otentate than Kicoya, entertained the adventurers at his court 
and also made them many pj-esents, among which was a quan- 
tity of gold valued at $100,000. Gil Gonzales de Avila, gave 
him in return some silk dre^sses and other European articles, 
and then set himself earnestly to work to convert the Indian 
monarch to Christianity. The questions asked by Nicarao re- 
garding the Catholic dogmata, and his conversations with the 
missionary who had undertaken this important conversion, 
prove that he was a man of gieat talent. At length, the mon- 
arch having succeeded in convincing his council of giiegiie — 
ancients — of the truth of the christian religion, he and his 
principal military and civil officers, with 9000 of his vassals, 
were solemnly baptized and received into the bosom of the 
Catholic church. 

Gil soon left his hospitable host, accompanied by an Indian 
tapaliqiil — general — who served him as interiireter, and halted 
not far from Nicarao's capital, which was situated in the midst 
of the great lake of Cocibolca, on a mountainous island called 
Ometepe. The Spaniards gave this lake the name of 'Sic- 
arao-agua, or the waters of Nicarao. From this incident the 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 187 

word Nicaragaa is derived, which has since been bestowed 
upon the whole republic. 

Gil had learned that the lake Oocibolca discharged its sur- 
plus waters into the Atlantic, but that it had no direct coinmu- 
nication with the Pacific. Yet his new friends informed him 
that it was connected with another lake, further to the west, 
which latter might possibly empty into the ocean. The ob. 
jectof his present expedition was to ascertain the truth of this 
information. Unfortunately he w?is unable to reach the locality 
where the lakes, were said to unite, in consequence of a san- 
guinary war that was going on between Diriangen, cacique of 
Diriambra, and Tenderi, cacique of Nindiri. He was compelled 
to make a wide detour to the west to the district of Fograndans 
and saw lake Xolotlan (now lake Managua) from Jubila, the 
capital of the ISTagrandanos. In this city he was received by 
the Monexia — the united military and civil councils — who were 
in session at the time and were about to proceed to the elec- 
tion of a new cacique. 

Further to the north Gil discovered a great gulf that was 
known as the Chorotega, but which he thought was a third 
large lake. From this point of observation it was impossible 
for the Spaniards to ascertain with'certainty it this arm of the 
Pacific really did communicate with lake Xolotlan. Some of 
the Indians told him a river from this lake communicated 
with the gulf; others pretended that this river, or strait, had, 
just before, been closed during a terrible convulsion of the 
earth caused by an eruption of a volcano — Momotombo — situ- 
ated near its edge, and since that occurrence the lake Xolot- 
lan empties into the Cocibolca. 

Eelying upon the statements of his new found friends, Gil 
made no further attempt to explore in this direction. One of 
the principal Indians informed him that the gulf of Chorotega 
(now the Fonseca) communicated directly with the Atlantic 
through a strait situated behind the great volcano Oonchagua 
and the range to which this latter jieak belonged. Delighted 
with having discovered the secret of the existence of the long 
desired and sought for strait, and fearing that some of his fol- 
lowers might obtain the same information, Gil hastened away 



188 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

Irom the locality. After having- collected his scattered people 
at the capital of ISTicarao, he proceeded to Orotina, where he 
found his pilot, Andres iSTino, who iu his absence had navi- 
gated along the coast for 350 leagues and had reached the 
limits of G-uatemala. The Spaniard embarked at this point 
with all his people and returned to Panama, having been ab- 
sent nearly two years. 

From this epoch may be dated the long series of misfortunes 
that overwhelmed the gallant discoverer of IS^icaragna. Gil 
Gonzalez de Avila was of a frank, communicative and gener- 
ous disposition, and was greatly beloved by his subordinates. 
Pedrarias, the Governor of Darien, was valiant, audacious 
and intelligent 5 but he possessed a tyrannical and jealous dis- 
position. He was very ambitious, but he was also cruel and 
sanguinary. Gil having solicited the future government of 
the regions he had just explored, Pedrarias, desirous of appro- 
priating to himself the results of said expedition, refused Gil's 
just demand under the pretext that the territory in question 
was not that which Gil had been authorized by the king to 
conquer, but the same that had been discovered by his (Ped- 
rarias') lieutenants, Ponce and Hurtado. Irritated at such 
injustice, Gil embarked for Santo Domingo and laid his griev- 
ances before the Eeal Audencia. This body, enchanted 
with the relation of his discoveries, and desirous, above all, to 
expedite the discovery of the connecting passage between the 
two oceans which Gil assured them existed, gave him the full 
and legal title of Governor of Nicaragua. 

According to a map which was drawn up from informa- 
tion he had received from the Indians, Gil thought that the 
Gulf of Fonseca could not be far distant 'from the Bay of 
Honduras. He departed for the latter with the ships, men 
and horses which had been furnished him in Santo Domingo. 
He arrived without accident, but when about to disembark a 
terrible tempest arose ; and his horses becoming sick, he was 
compelled to throw them into the sea. Shortly afterwards he 
disembarked in a line bay a little to the north of the scene of 
his misfortunes and founded a settlement which he called San 
Gil de Buenavista. 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAaUA. 189 

lu the meantime, Pedrarias, whom the story of Gil's former 
expedition had inspired with an unconquerable desire to add 
Nicaragua to the provinces under his jurisdiction, resolved 
to send an expedition thither, to form an establishment. But 
to realize this object it was necessary to find a commander 
who, with the valor to conquer and the talent to establish a 
colony, should lack the ambition and enterprise to declare 
himself independent. 

There was at Panama, among the unemployed adventurers 
who swelled the little court of the governor, the same Fran- 
cisco Fernandez de Cordoba, who had explored Yucatan before 
Grijalva's expedition thither. He was a gentleman of good 
family and had been one of the first settlers of Cuba, where 
he had made a fortune. His expedition to Yucatan, which he 
had undertaken at his own cost, had ruined him. He was not 
able to continue his discoveries in that direction for want of 
means. He had, therefore, been compelled to seek for employ- 
ment. Cordoba was past the middle age. His vast experience 
had dispelled the illusions of youth and he was noted for his 
philosophic temperament. He was sufficiently brave to con- 
quer, and disinterested enough not to inspire fears of his 
appropriating what he had conquered. 

Pedrarias therefore hastened to offer the command of the 
expedition he intended to send into ISTicaragua, to Cordoba. 
Upon the latter's acceptance of the trust he furnished him 
with a sufficient force, well fitted out, and also sent with him 
the same pilot who had guided the fleet of G-il Gonzalez de 
A Vila. Cordoba, who came (originally from Andalusia, chose 
for his followers from among Pedrarias' soldiers, all who were 
natives of that part of Spain. These adventurers were the 
forefathers of the principal Nicaraguan families of to day. 

After having disembarked at Orotina, he founded a city at 
'the mouth of the Salto, which he called Bruselas, in memory 
of the recent military achievements of the Spaniards in Flan- 
ders. He then marched to the territory of Mcarao and entered 
into an alliance with him. He shortly afterwards, but not 
without some difficulty, entered the country of the Dirianes, 
where the king — cacique — permitted him to found a city close 



190 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

to Subteba. He named it Grauada, after one of the principal 
cities in Spain. As he found this locality very healthy he 
resolved to make the new city the centre of his future opera- 
tions. He fortified it and erected a magnificent churcli, 
which he dedicated to his patron, San Francisco. Desirous 
of exploring the lake as soon as possible, a brigantine was 
brought, in pieces, fromBruselas, on the backs of the Indians, 
porters of the neighborhood. He soon discovered that the 
lake (Nicaragua) communicated only with the Atlantic. 

Gil Gonzalez, who had been engaged in exploring the 
country to the north, in search of that strait which constantly 
seemed to elude him, learned from certain Nicaraguan Indians 
that the country had been invaded by one of Pedrarias' lieu- 
tenants. He immediately gathered his people together and 
accompanied by numerous Indian auxiliaries marched against 
the invaders. 

The distance was greater and the country more broken than 
he had imagined, and while he was slowly penetrating the 
district of Olancho, Cordoba heard of his intentions and ad- 
vanced to meet him as far as the country of the ]!!Tigrandos, 
where he founded Leon, not far from the margin of lake Xol- 
otlan, near Imbita. 

Here he fortified his camp and calmly awaited Gil's ap- 
proach. After some time had elapsed he was informed that 
his adversary had flanked his position and entered the coun 
try of the Chontales. He marched out to find- him. At length 
the forces met near Toreba. The battle was deadly. Cordoba, 
almost victor in tlie first combat, was utterly defeated in thfe 
second and lost many men, all his horses and almost $425,000 
in gold. 

Gil made preparations to pursue him and reconquer all 
Nicaragua, when he was informed that a Spanish fleet had 
appeared off his settlement of San Gil. Deeply impressed by 
this fact, he preferred to lose the results of his victory, and 
resolved to return to his northern conquests. His greatest 
fear was that the intruders intended searching for the strait, 
which he constantly imagined he was about to discover him- 
self. Cordoba took advantage of this retreat to follow him, 



REPUBLIC OF NICARA&UA. 191 

at a (listajice, us far as the river Ooco, where he stopped sliort 
and founded a cAiy, which he named Nueva Segovia. 

The quarrels that arose in Honduras between Gil, Las Casas, 
Olid and Cortez, irritated the Keal Audiencia of Santo Do- 
mingo to such a degree that this body at length sent a hidalgo 
named Moreno to Central America, with instructions to pacify 
the country. Moreno disembarked in Trujillo, deposed Las 
Casas, and appointed Juan Ruauo governor ad interim of 
Honduras and Nicaragua. Having installed the new func- 
tionary, Moreno commanded Cordoba, who was then at Leon, 
to submit to Ruano, to obey tlie orders of the Eeal Audiencia, 
and ignore the instructions of Pedrarias. 

Cordoba resolved to take advantage of the situation and 
declare himself independent of all parties save the King of 
Spain. But Pedrarias had in Granada numerous relatives 
and friends who opposed this movement. Cordoba endeavored 
to force them to submit, but the Granadans rebelled against 
his authority, and under the command of Captains Soto and 
Campeon marched to encounter him. The ancient feud be- 
tween the Indian nations of ISTagrando and Diriamba swelled 
the ranks of both combatants. The rebels of Granuda were 
compelled to retire before the forces of Cordoba. Soto and 
Campeon fled to Bruselas and afterwards to Chiriqui. From 
this latter locality they sent word to Pedrarias of all that had 
taken place. 

This latter chieftain, enraged at the treachery of his former 
obedient lieutenant, resolved to chastise him. He collected 
an ample force and set sail for Bruselas. He from thence 
proceeded to Leon, which he captured, and immediately or- 
dered the unfortunate Cordoba to be beheaded. He marched 
afterwards to Trujillo, raised the whole province against 
Euano, and obliged him to flee for his life. 

Ruano returned to Santo Domingo followed by Gil, who had 
remained quiet in the hopo. of eventually succeeding him in 
the government. The Audiencia resolved to send him to 
Spain with a detailed report of the events that had lately 
taken place in Central America, and ^Nicaragua in particular. 
They also petitioned that Gil might be aj)poiuted Governor, 



192 REPUBLIC OP NICARAaUA. 

as he was the ouly man, in their estimation, who could pacify 
the country. 

Gil was well received by the court and was appointed to fill 
the post he had so long struggled for. But scarcely had he 
triumphed over his enemies, and obtained his just rights, 
when he sickened and died at Valledolid in the beginning of 
the year 1526. 

With the execution of Cordoba and the untimely death of 
the chivalrous Gil Gonzales de Avila, ends the romantic and 
adventurous era of the conquest of Nicaragua. The cold 
blooded Pedrarias in person took an active part in the subju- 
gation of the country. The two former adventurers were kind 
and friendly to the natives, who readily followed them on their 
various expeditions and fought valiantly under their orders. 

Meanwhile the King of Spain (Charles V.) had appointed 
Diego Lopez de Salcedo Governor of Honduras and Nicaragua 
in place of the deceased Gil Gonzales. On his arrival at the 
scene of operations, this functionary found Savaadra, a lieu- 
tenant of Cortez, in command. He immediately deposed him, 
put him in prison for awhile, and then, after confiscating his 
property, exiled him to Cuba. But Pedrarias, who had waited 
quietly at Leon until Cortez returned to Mexico, sent his 
lieutenant, Kojas, against Salcedo. The latter was able to 
maintain his pretensions ; so, after a series of sanguinary con- 
flicts, Eojas entered into a compact with him by which Pedra- 
rias was recognized as Governor of the iNicaraguan territory 
as far as the jurisdiction of Mcarao extended. Pedrarias, who 
was dissatisfied with this arrangement, refused his consent to 
it, and determined to go to Spain and petition the king for a 
legal title to his conquests. 

After a prosperous voyage, Pedrarias reached the peninsula 
and immediately proceeded to the court. He was well re- 
ceived by the king and succeeded in obtaining the title of 
Governor of Nicaragua, with instructions to leave Salcedo in 
charge of the government of Honduras. 

The news of this arrangement having reached Leon, the 
municipality of that city laid hold oi Salcedo and reduced him 
to prison. When Pedrarias arrived he had him tried for 



REPUBLIC OP WICARAGXTA. 193 

haviug destroyed Bruselas, and kept him prisoner for eight 
mouths, when he eventutiily released him and allowed him to 
proceed to HouduraSj where he was soon after poisoned by 
his enemies. 

Pedrarias who had treated the Indians with the utmost se- 
verity and had suppressed the least sign of resistance to his 
power with the most bloody reprisals, on his return to Pan- 
ama encountered a change in the situation. Taking advan- 
tage of the quarrels between their oppressors, the Indians had 
broken out in open rebellion But Pedrarias was equal to the 
situation, and fought the Indians without cession. Nnmeroi^s 
combats, and six battles took place. At first the Indians ob- 
tained many advantages but they were eventually defeated, 
with terrible loss, and iinaliy, submitted to Pedrarias in 1529. 

This latfcer chieftain inaugurated a system which he denom- 
inated the " Period of organisation.^^ The chiefs of the Indian 
rebels were thrown to the bloodhounds which tore them to 
pieces. The survivors were forced to embrace the Catholic re- 
ligion under the penalty of death. The masses were subjected 
to heavy tributes and severe tasks. The repartamiuto system 
of labor was introduced, and generalized, and the natives were 
divided like cattle among the cruel conquerors. Those indi- 
viduals who resisted were ruthlessly tortured, and when com- 
munities rebeled, their towns and villages were destroyed, 
and the miserable inhabitants put to the sword. The Indians 
were reduced to the most abject slavery. Their property was 
taken and they were branded like cattle with red-hot iron. The 
Antilles having been depopulated through this system of 
cruelty, the Spanish residents sought slaves on the main land. 
Thousands of the unfortunate natives were chained and sent 
to Trujillo to be transported to Cuba and Santo Domingo to 
be sold as slaves. 

Pedrarias died, as he had lived, in harness, in the year 1531, 
Through his own personal efforts and those of his Lieutenants 
he achieved the conquest of that vast stretch of territory ex- 
tending from the equator, north, to the southern limits of Gua- 
temala. But his cruel system of government prevailed for a 
long period after his death, and the miserable remnant of In- 
dians, he still permitted to exist, moistened their native soil 
with their bloody sweat, or dragged out a brief and painful 
existence in the mines or gold placers. 



CHAPTER II. 

Rapid Depopulation of Nicaragua — Spanish Regime — Oppnission of the 
Creoles and Half Castes— Revolt of the Residents of Granada— Inde- 
pendence Declared — Annexation. of Central America to Mexico — Fall 
of Itnrhide — Central American Republic Established — ItsDestrnction 
in 1838 — English Oppression^Granada Captured by British TroojJS — 
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty — Regeneration and Reform of the Republic. 

Wben the adventurer, Gil Gonzalez de Avila, first landed 
on the coast and penetrated to tlie borders of tbe great lakes? 
NicaragUH contained within its limits a happy and industrious 
Indian population of 3,000,000 souls. In less than ten years, 
more than two million and a half of the natives had perished 
in battle, were worked to death in the mines, or had starved 
amid the mountain fastnesses which proved their last refuge 
from Spanish oppression. The very year of Pedrarias' death, 
1531, a terrible famine prevailed. The small-pox and scarlet 
fever followed in its train, and at least 250,000 more of the 
miserable Indians perished. Thus, in 1810, when the first 
movement towards realizing the independence of the country 
was made, an impartial observer unhesitatingly estimated the 
entire aboriginal population of the province at but 90,000 
souls. 

The history of the long Spanish rule in Nicaragua com- 
prises but little more than a series of combats with Indian 
rebels and of quarrels between the two rival cities of Leon 
and Granada. The home government oppressed the descend: 
ants of the conquerors almost as much as the latter did their 
Indian vassals. The inter-marriage of the first conquerors 
and settlers with the daughters and female relatives of the 
aboriginal caciques brought about the creation of a new race 
who were indifferently called Creoles and Ladinos '>y the 
Spaniards. But the Spanish fathers treated their half bree<l 
children with contempt and their native wives with a good 
humored assumption of superiority. The issue of these mar 
riages naturally feared their fathers and loved their mothers, 



REPUBLIC OF NICAEAaUA. 195 

and invariably sympathised with the oppressed aboriginal 
population. Kone but native Spaniards were permitted to fill 
the public posts or hold commissions in the army, thus the 
half castes were relegated to a life of toil or idleness. 

Meanwhile the English had landed at various points on the 
Atlantic slope, aud eventually formed permanent establish- 
ments. The Mosquite tribe and the Zambos joined their 
standard and waged a ferocious and interminable war against 
the Si)aniards and the Indians who remained faithful bo them. 
The English entered into a vast contraband trade with the 
Ladinos and also with many disaffected Spaniards, and prom- 
ised them material assistance whenever the^^ saw fit to make 
a bold strike for their independence. In the beginning of the 
present century the English were virtually masters of the 
entire Caribbean coast, while the restless Creoles and Ladinos, 
of the interior, and the entire Indian population were ready 
to av^euge the long dark period of Spanish misrule and made 
secret preparations for revolt. 

At length, in 1810, the news arrived aud was promulgated, 
that in 1808, the armies of the Lion of Corsica had entered 
Spain and had deposed the taciturn Ferdinand VII. ; that 
Quito had raised the standard of liberty over hei- public build- 
ings and that the Mexican priest, EQdalgo, had proclaimed 
the independence of Mexico. 

The patriots of Leon followed the example of the so-called 
rebels of Mexico and New Grenada and deposed their gover- 
nor, Jose Salvador. The Spanish Cortes, upon information 
of this event, decreed that Nicaragua should be governed 
by a council composed of the deputies of Leon, Costa Rica, 
Grauada, Eivas, Segovia, Matagalpa and Nicoya. This coun- 
cil met in 1812 and decreed the promulgation of the liberal 
Spanish Constitution. 

But the patriots were di.^satisfied with this arrangement. 
The people of Granada took the initiative. They deposed all 
the Spanish functionaries and demanded independence. Troops 
were sent from Leon to suppress the revolt, and several san- 
guinary conflicts took place. Various patriots, among whom 
were Arguello and Cel^da, were sent prisoners to Spain. 



196 REPUBLIC OP NiCAEAaXJA. 

Upon the fall of Napoleou, Ferdinand reascended the throne 
of his ancestors and the liberal Constitution was abolished. 
But many of the Spanish functionaries in Central America de- 
precated this restoration of absolutism. The Creole and Ladiuo 
patriots endeavored, in conjunction with this new element of 
opposition, to bring about an entire separation from the mother 
country, but their efforts were fruitless and much precious 
blood was shed in vain. 

In 1820, the successful conspiracy of Gen. Riego, the fall of 
the absolute party and the new promulgation of the Constitu- 
tion of the Cortez decided the fate of Guatemala. The exiles 
of 1814, returned and the patriot party pronounced openly in 
favor ^of complete independence. Gainza, the Captain General, 
favored this movement hoping to direct and manage it for his 
personal benefit. At length Guatemala was solemnly declared 
free and independent on the 15th of September, 1821. 

An election for deputies to Congress was immediately held, 
but before the Congress in question met, the new republic was 
annexed to the ephemerel empire established by Iturbide, in 
Mexico. Then two political parties divided Central Anerica. 
The one in favor and the other against annexation The larger 
cities adhered to the compact, but those of second order^ 
Granada, for instance — demanded separation from the empire. 
The patriot inhabitants, under the leadership of one Ordonez, 
refused to submit and arnachy and civil war prevailed until 
the fall of the Iturbide regime, in 1823. 

June 24th J 823, a Congress was held in Guatemala, which 
is known in history as the National Constitute Assembly. On 
the 1st of July the united provinces of Central America were 
declared free and independent, and from that date may be reck- 
oned the actual emancipation of the country. 

On the 17th of October, the same year, a constitution was 
submitted to Congress, for discussion. The 17th of April, 1824, 
slavery was abolished. At that epoch there were not more 
than a thousand slaves in Central America. The owners were 
immediately paid their full value. At length the First Federal 
Constitution was promulgated on the 22d of November, 1824. 
Each province was elevated to the posit'on of a sovereign state, - 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 197 

with its independent Congress or legislature, while a E"ational 
Congress was to hold its regular periodical sessions at Guate- 
mala the capital of the republic. The new Constitution was 
sworn to by the public officials April 15, 1825, and the first 
federal Congress met on the 1st of the following September. 
This Constitution, notwithstanding the numerous revolutions 
that menanced its existence, was considered the fundamental 
law of the entire country until 1838, when it was overthrown 
and the republic was destroyed by the tiiumphant serviles. 

While the Constitution was being drawn up and the republic 
founded, Nicaragua was the prey of factions whose struggles 
converted the state into a theatre of battle and bloodshed. 
The ancient ri^'alries of the cities of Leon and Granada broke 
out afresh. The residents of one city favored the federation of 
the five republics ; those of the other declared for the absolute 
separation of the provinces and their entire independence of 
each other. The Federalists became known as the liberal 
party and the anti-annexionists as the serviles. 

In the beginning of the year 1824 the province was governed 
by an administrative council, which substituted the govern- 
ment of Sarabia. But it scarcely had time to pass a few 
measures, among which was the abolition of slavery, when its 
authority was destroyed by the terrible struggle between the 
two parties. On the Ith of July a revolution broke out. On 
the 22d of the same month, after a sanguinary conflict, Leon 
was captured and sacked by the enraged Liberals. 

In March, 1825, Honduras and Nicaragua seceded from the 
federation ; and on the 10th of April a Congress, presided 
over by Zamora, met and gave a constitution to the free and 
sovereign State of Nicaragua. On the 22d of the same month 
Cerda and Arguella, who had been exiled in 1811, were elect- 
ed, the one a supreme chief and the other vice chief of the 
State. 

But this attempt at political organization was made too late. 
The parties had committed such excesses against each other 
that their reconciliation was impossible. But the principal 
canse of further troubles was the quarrel that took place be- 
tween Cerda and Arguello. Each became chief of one of the 



]9S REPUBLIC OF NICARA&TJA. 

two parties that divided society, A cruel civil war broke out. 
Durinjr its course the subject of dissention was completely 
lost sight of, and a terrible conflict, tliat lasted years, devas- 
tated the couutry. 

From this epoch may be dated that strange Nicaragu^n 
custom which made it incumbent upon each member of society 
to declare himself a partisan of One of the political parties 
which were constantly striving to obtain possession of the 
government. The females were as bitter and rancorons jis 
their male relatives and contributed, in no small degree, to the 
intensity of the conflict. The idea of submitting to the j)oliti- 
cal supremacy of the opposite party was too humiliating to 
be borne by the high minded people, thus as fast as one fac- 
tion gained the upper haud the other rebelled and strove to 
overthrow it. . 

According to the historian, Lev3% "this unfortunate situation 
brought about a corresponding corruption of morals Each 
ambitious man strove either to govern or take part in the 
government. Those who o(;cupied the principal posts sought 
to enrich themselves. Property was violated and individual 
liberty ignored. Justice was pro.stitnted and only the phan- 
tom of a government existed.. The conquered party was the 
object of inhuman rei)risals, and, desirous of avenging those 
of its numbers who had been shot like dogs, grasped the first 
opportunity to renew the strife. Treason, hypocrisy, seduc- 
tion, conspiracy and assassination were introduced into poli- 
tics, and the country became the ])rey of the most horrible 
disorders." This terrible condition of affairs prevailed until 
the death of Oerda, who was shot at Rivas, in 1829. 

About this time the Liberal General, Morozan, attempted to 
reorganii:e the government and put an end to the civil wars 
that desolated each of the five states of the federation. For a 
period his efforts were successful and the serviles were about 
to give over the struggle in despair, when the brutal and fero- 
cious Carrera of Guatemala appeared in the political arena. 
Morozan's star paled before that of the fortunate ladiuo, and 
he was driven into exile. He returned to Costa Riea in 1840, 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAaUA. 199 

but was defeated, captured and shot at San Jos6. With him 
fell the Central American republic. 

In 1838, the federal Congress dissolved the federation, declar- 
ing the states free, to govern themselves as they saw fit, with 
the single restriction that the form of government should be 
republican. On the 30th of April, 1838, IsTicaragua proclaimed 
her absolute independence, and promulgated a new Constitu- 
tion. Each state assumed its proportion of the debt contracted 
by the federation. 

But before the declaration of the state's independence the 
internal disorders had continued. The rivalry between the 
cities of Leon and Granada served as a pretext for the most 
bloody struggles. The poorer politicians established a situa- 
tion of war against all who owned property, without distinc- 
tion of party. Zepeda was cruelly assassinated at Leon, and 
the vice governor, ISTufiez, assumed the functions of chief of 
the nation. 

The last Federal Congress closed its sessions on the 30th of 
June, 1838^ and Pablo Buitrogo was elected the first supreme 
director, with instructions to establish the Constitution of 
April 30th. He was soon succeeded by Don Mannei Perez. 

The federal cause was totally lost. The dictator. Carreia, 
held the key of the situation and by his declaration of Guate- 
mala as a separate and independent rei)ublic definitely dis- 
solved the federation. Then Perez, the supreme dictator of 
Nicaragua, endeavored .to bring about a union of tlie three 
States of Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua!. A convention 
was held in 1842, but the exalted passions of the different 
political parties soon put an end to the deliberations of this 
body, and the plan of partial federation fell to the ground. 

Lett to its fate, Nicaragua continued the prey of the most 
complete anarchy, and for five years a continuous situation of 
civil war obtained. In 1844, Malespin invaded Leon and 
overthrew Perez. Jose Leon Sandoval assumed the functions 
of supreme dictator. This gentleman endeavored to reform 
his country but was unsuccessi'ul. He sent an agent to Eng- 
land to attempt the solution of the Mosquite question and to 
solicit assistance for the Nicaragua oanal^ which had been 



200 REPUBLIC OF NIOARAGIJA. 

projected by Baily, in 1838. This mission failed and, in 1847j 
Sandoval resigned and Jos6 G-uerrero was chosen to fill the 
position he had vacated. 

As early as 1836, the Mcaraguan G-overnment resolved to 
dispossess some English fillibusters who had captured Grey- 
town in 1824, and had even gone so far as to establish a 
customhouse at that point. Colonel Quijano was sent with 
sufficient forces to oust them. He succeeded in his mission. 
The English retired but sent an envoy to Belize to ask assist- 
ance trom Grovernor McDonald. This latter official acceded 
to their petition, sent forces to the scene of operatious and 
retook the port, which was, however, evactuated shortly after- 
wards. 

When the English troops retired Quijano immediately re- 
occupied the place. The English and i!>Iicaraguau Groveruments 
from that moment entered upon an augry correspondence. 
The former claimed jurisdiction along the entire Caribbean 
coast. The latter naturally demanded that England should 
repress her fillibustering subjects and leave l^icaragua in 
peace. Then the English incited the Mosquite Indians to 
attack the port, but government soldiers repulsed them time 
and again until Captain Lock, by order of the Governor of 
Jamaica, Sir Charles G-rey, at the head of a large force, took 
possession of the port, ascended the San Juan river and occu- 
pied Granada, He held possession of this city until he made 
a formal arrangement with the l!^icaraguan Government, on 
the 7th of May, that it would no longer interfere witli the 
sovereignty of the Mosquite Nation over the Atlantic coast. 
The foreign residents of the port, in gratitude for the action 
of the Governor of Jamaica, gave it his name, and since that 
epoch it has been generally known as Greytown. 

This disgraceful circumstance had— temporarily at least — a 
very beneficial eifect upon the people. The fact that a small 
body of foreign soldiers had, almost without resistance on 
their part, captured their principal Caribbean seaport, pene- 
trated far into the interior of their republic and occupied 
their second city in importance and wealth, humiliated them 



REPUBLIC OF NICABAGUA. 201 

to such a degree that tliey dropped their arms and put an end 
to their interminable civil wars. 

In 1849, Norberto Ramirez succeeded Guerrero. This year 
was marked by the arrival of the American Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary, Mr. Squier, and IS'icaragua entered into a treaty of 
peace and friendship with the great republic. About the 
same time an American named Brown entered into a contract 
to construct the canal, and Vanderbilt, the great American 
ship-owner, obtained permission to transport freight and pas- 
sengers, for California, through the country from Greytown, 
on the Caribbean coast, to the Pacific, 

But these measures, although a step forward in the right 
direction, were far from satisfying the irritated state of feel- 
ing consequent upon the repeated violations of national terri- 
tory, and the Central Americans again demanded possessioy 
of the Bay Islands and the port of San .Juan del Norte — Gray- 
town. The English, upon these manifestations, immediately 
occupied Tigre Island, in the gulf of Fonseca. Then the 
United States interfered and demanded the recognition of the 
Monroe doctrine. At length the Claytou-Bulwer treaty was 
entered into. The absolute independence of the Central 
American republics was assured as well as the neutrality of 
all future canals that might be cut through this territory. But 
the American statesmen, in their anxiety to prevent the fur- 
ther extension of slavery and the acquisition of territory to 
the south that might be utilized for that purpose, lost sight of 
the Mosquito coast question and foolishly entered into a stip- 
ulation which virtually rendered American influence null in 
Central America. Thus, if the ratification of this treaty was 
a glorious event for the little Latin- American republics, it was 
an ignominious compact for our own country to be bound by, 
and cannot be abrogated too soon. 

On the first of January, 1851, the first Vanderbilt steamer 
arrived at Greytown. The supreme director, Laureano Pin- 
eda, placed at the disposition of the enterprise the two ports 
of La Virgen and San Juan del Sur. This step was taken for 
the purpose of diminishing the length of the transit, as hith- 
erto the route led through Realejo and Granada. 



202 REPUBLIC OF NIOABAaUA. 

The same j'ear the town of Managua was declared the capi- 
tal of the republic, for the purpose of putting a stop to the 
disastrous rivalry that still existed between the cities of Leon 
and Granada. A third convention decreed the union of the 
three States — Honduras, San Salvador and Nicaragua. In 
1852 a national assembly was held at Tegucigalpa for the pur- 
pose of conferring a constitution on the new federation, but no 
result was arrived at, and the plan of the confederation was 
definitely abandoned. 

In 1853 Don Fruto Ohamorro was elected Supreme Director. 
This gentleman was one of the most intelligent statesmen and 
accomplished scholars that Central America had as yet pro- 
duced. He was a sincere patriot and entertained liberal, but 
not radical, sentiments. He set himself earnestly to work to 
pacify his country and regenerate society. In 1855 a constit- 
uent assemby abolished the constitutien of 1838, changed the 
title of state to republic, and that of supreme dictator to pres- 
ident. The chieftains of the radical faction fled to San Salva- 
dor, but soon returned to Nicaragua at the head of a party of 
ardent followers, and at Leon were joined by a great number 
of recruits. Ohamorro jilaced himself at the head of the army 
and stood a siege of nine months in Granada. 

The radicals then invited the American filibuster. Walker, 
to join their ranks, and in 1855 the latter disembarked at Brito 
and attacked Ruas. But the young Nicaraguans, irrespective 
of party, banded against him and he suffered a total defeat. 
This adventurer again returned to the country. The sequel 
of his romantic career will be given in another place. For five 
years he disturbed the country and prevented the prosecution 
of the plans of reform meditated by the patriot Ohamorro. 

The death of Walker, and the final dispersion of the unpatrit 
otic Nicaraguans who had followed his desperate fortunes so 
faithfully, inaugurated a new era of peace and reform. Under 
the Presidents Martinez, Guzman and Quadra, and somewhat 
later Zavala and 04rdenas, Nicaragua has slowly but surely 
entered upon a new political existence. 

The war for the conquest of the country by the Spaniards, 
which has been marked by so many sangninaj-y scenes and 



REPUBLIC OF NTCARAaUA. 203 

heart-sickeuiuiLi' atrocities, and the long', dark, sullen Spanish 
regime, which brutalized the indigiues and terrorized and em- 
bittered the Creole and ladino population, were the causes 
which eventually led to the cruel wars and bloody emeutes 
which devastated the country for five long decades after its in- 
dependence. When the oppressed Creoles and ladinos rebelled 
against their former masters, the lessons of the past three cen- 
turies had been well digested, and, when victorious they turned 
against each other the arms they had taken up to battle for 
their freedom. But liberty is a coy damsel who can only be 
won by force, while her conduct is so capricious and her prin- 
ciples so ambiguous that their true meaning is difficult to be 
ascertained. She so much resembles license that many of 
her votaries mistake it for her, and, enveloped in error, com- 
mit a thousand excesses before the truth dawns upon them. 
A people before they can achieve liberty must be purified by 
a baptism of blood, while the capricious goddess is only 
reached after wading through a sea of slaughter. Such has 
been the history of every people who have striven for indepen- 
dence, and such was the history of unfortunate if icaragua for a 
period of nearly fifty years. 

It would seem almost impossible then that a people who had 
for so long a period been surrounded by such corrupting influ 
ences could even seriously undertake, and eventually achieve, 
the political, social and material reformation of their country. 
Yet the I^icaraguans have accomplished all this within the 
brief period of a decade and a half. The good work of regen- 
eration was begun by President J. Vincente Quadras. His 
successors, particularly Zavala, the last president and Dr Oar- 
demas the present enlightened Executive, have faithfully fol- 
lowed his example and have at length fairly solved the problem 
he first undertook. In fact Nicaragua in some respects has 
progressed further on the path of political and material re- 
form than her northern sisters. She has extinguished her 
foreign debt, and has inaugurated a grand railroad system 
which will in a few years net-work the entire republic with 
iron bands. Steps have been taken to restore the port of 
Graytown to its former condition and improve the navigation 



204 REPUBLIC OF NIC ARA.GUA. 

of the rapid river San Juan, and the government, desirous of 
filling the waste lands with indus^trious settlers, has olBtered 
advantageous terms to foreign immigrants. 

The reader will observe, therefore, that the terrible lessons 
of the past have not been unheeded by the people of IS^icaragua, 
and that in a comparatively brief period they have reformed 
the abuses that obtained in their system of government. They 
have regenerated the republic. They merit the respect and 
esteem of their fellowmeu and deserve to be classed among the 
most progressive and liberal of all the people of Latin America. 



CHAPTER 111. 

Walker's Invasion — He Seizes the Government — Proclaims Slavery — 
American Abolitionists Declare Against Him — Great Britain also 
interferes — He Is Defeated and Seeks Safety on an English Vessel — Is 
Delivered Up to His Enemies and Shot — British Oppression in Cen- 
. tral America— Settlement of Bluefields— The Treaty of 1860— The 
Mosquite Reservation. 
Thirty years ago the Republic of Nicaragua was better 
known to the civilized world than any other portion of Cen- 
tral America. A band of brave American filibusters, under 
the command of the famous Walker, for several years waged 
a war of conquest on Mcaraguan territory. After a series of 
sanguinary combats and romantic adventures, the intrepid 
Walker, assisted by a few discontented Nicaraguan chieftains 
and their followers, eventually prevailed. He seized the reins 
of power and for a brief period controlled the destinies of the 
countr}'. 

Notwithstanding the avowed hostility of the British Gov- 
ernment and the undisguised enmity of the people of the 
northern section of the great republic to his person and pro- 
jects, hundreds of volunteers flocked to the standard of the 
filibuster chieftain. Thousands more would have cast their 
fortunes with him and his success would then have been fully 
assured, when he was betrayed into an impolitic act which 
speedily brought about his downfall. The moiety of his forces 
were natives of the Sunny South. They were naturally deeply 
imbued with the political sentiments and the traditions cur- 
rent in that section. Their greatest ambition was to bring 
about the establishment of a slavocracy in Central America, 
and they induced the reckless adventurer to declare slavery 
an institution of the new Americo-Latin Eepublic. 

From the moment that imprudent resolution was taken, 
and the decree establishing slavery promulgated, the fillibus- 
tering movement was doomed. The British Grovernment 
openly interfered and supplied the patriot chieftains with 
arms and money. The abolitionists of the northern section 



206 REPUBLIC OF NICARAaUA. 

of the United States denounced the new alave-holding power 
and the G-overnment was compelled, by the voice of popular 
opinion, to prevent all further shipment of material of war, 
and of volunteers to Nicaraguan ports. 

Deprived of reinforcements, of munitions of war and of sup- 
plies, surrounded on all sides by a hostile and irreconcilable 
people, the gallant but misguided American chieftain, after 
almost superhuman efforts to sustain his sinking cause, was 
delivered by the English into the hands of his >n placable ene- 
mies and was executed as a filibuster. He met his fate calmly 
and courageously ; but before he died he is reported, in the 
bitterness of his disappointment, to have uttered tbe follow- 
ing significant and j)rophetic remarks : 

" I have been deserted by countrymen. They promised me 
means, arms and reinforcements. I fought their battle in a 
foreign country, but it will not be long before the struggle 
will be renewed in my own southland and the forces of pro- 
slavery and abolition will contend for political supremacy on 
the cane fields and cotton plantations of the South." 

The deep significance and great importance of the problem 
Walker attempted to solve was not at the time comprehended 
by the world at large, nor, did he himself aj)preciate, to its full 
extent, the work he had undertaken. Walker was not a mere 
adventurer. He was an acute observer and had, notwithstand- 
ing his assertions to the contrary, arrived at the conclusion 
that the institution of slavery had reached its apogee in the 
United States. Several of his old comrades at arms who yet 
survive have said that his intention was to found a new slave 
empire where the soil, the climate and all the surroundings 
warranted the success of his grand enterpi-ise. 

Nicaragua once subdued and his army reinforced with thou- 
sands of adventurers from every land, but particularly from' 
the southern section of the United States, he would have pro- 
ceeded northward, and Honduras, Guatemala and San Salva- 
dor would in turn have been subdued. These conquests 
consolidated, he would have added Costa Rica and the isthmus 
to his vast domain, and then, but not till then, would have 
declared himself emperor of United Central America. 



RBPi BLIC OP NICARAeUA. 207 

But to carry this grand enterprise to a successful issue 
would have required vast sums of money and large armies. 
The gold and silver mines found in the mountains of Guate- 
mala, Honduras and the Department of Segovia could have 
supplied the former; the reckless and adventurous youth of 
the south the latter ; and had he not betrayed his pro-slavery 
tendencies too prematurely, he might have succeeded. In this 
case, the war of secession in the United States might have 
been delayed, if not altogether averted, for a more congenial 
clime for the permanent establishment of slavery would have 
been furnished, while the institution would, naturally have be- 
come unprofitable in our own Sunny Southland. 

But Walker's grand project fell to the ground, and the 
soldier paid with his life the penalty of his failure. 

But the romantic career and subsequent martyrdom of 
Walker solved one problem that had sorely perplexed the 
statesmen of both Europe and America. He struck a fatal 
l;low at English supremacy in the Caribbean sea. When the 
British delivered him over to execution, they fondly imagined 
that the greatest foe to their ambitious designs was thus re- 
moved. But they were mistaken. The United States and 
France at last awakened to an appreciation of England's in- 
sidious Central American policy and remonstrated against 
its continuance. The result of this interference was the treaty 
between l^icaragua and England in 1860, which restored to 
the former country the territory which had been wrested from 
her by the latter power. The Cape Gracias and Graytown 
districts were returned to Nicaragua in fall sovereignty. Yet 
certain commercial restrictions were maintained which even 
the most prejudiced enemy of Great Britain must confess have 
proved beneficial to the localities in question. The Mosquito 
reservation was established, and England, ostensibly at least, 
renounced her absurd pretentions to political supremacy in 
Nicaragua. A treaty between Honduras and Great Britain 
restored to the former the possession in full and absolute sov- 
ereignty of the Caribbean archipelago commonly known as 
the Bay Islands. 

As England's designs on Central America eventually as- 
sumed such significant political proportions, and as Nicaragua 



208 REPUBLIC OF NICAEAaUA. 

was the principal victim of that insidious policy, a brief sketch 
of the history of Great Britain's endeavor to acquire absolute 
'political preponderance in Central America might be inter- 
esting to American readers. 

In the year 1589, a pirate, or filibuster, named Blan veldt 
founded a colotiy at Blueflelds. Other pirates established 
themselves at Pearl Lagoon and other different points ; and in 
a few years acquired such strength that they openly defied the 
majesty and power of the Sf>anish monarchy. They soon con- 
vinced the surrounding Indian tribes that they were most im- 
placable enemies of the red man's deadly foe, the Spaniards, 
and eventually acquired an unbounded influence over the un- 
tutored sous of the forest. Through their intermarriages with 
the Indian woman, and the subsequent miscegenation of 
ladinos, negroes, caribs, Indians and their own [)arti-colored 
issue, a new race of people was created whose descendants 
live still at different localities along the extended Mosquito 
coast. 

As the majority of these pirates were English — (their leaders 
almost invariably were)— they naturally looked to the mother 
country for moral, if not for material, support to consolidate 
and increase the number of their conquests. For two centu- 
ries these ferocious and brutal, but at the same time reckless 
and desperate adventurers, harried the islands of the Antilles 
and the vast stretch of coast along the Spanish main. Their 
piratical ships infested the Mexican gulf, the wide Caribbean 
sea, and even extended their incursions as far east and south 
as the mouth of the Eio de la Plata. 

A filibuster craft of ordinary tonnage would unhesitatingly 
attack a Spanish vessel of triple its size. The ferocious pirates 
were generally victors in these sanguinary combats. The 
Spanish crews, and male passengers, were either slaughtered ' 
immediately, or were reserved and afterward compelled "to 
walk the plank" for the amusement of their blood-thirsty 
captors, but the female captives were doomed to an even 
more terrible fate. While a portion of the filibusters, pirates, 
buccaneers, or whatever they should be styled, were the mas- 
ters of the southern seas, their companions made long and 



REPUBLIC OF NIC AR AQUA. 209 

victorrous incursious into the interior of G-uatemala, of Nica- 
ragua, and of Costa Kica, and devastated the country for 
miles on either side of their line of march. 

Thus amid such constantly recurring scenes of murder, of 
rapine, and of license, the blood cemented foundations of 
England's future commercial and political predominance in 
Central America were laid. 

In the year 1655, Cromwell dispatched a powerful fleet to 
the Antilles. His intention was to wrest Cuba, Puerto Eico, 
Jamaica, and in fact all the West Indian possessions of Spain, 
from the degenerate successors of Charles V. and the absolute 
and all powerful Phillip II. The commanders of the land 
forces and the fleet quarreled, thus the conquest of the Island 
of Jamaica was the only result accom]3lished by the expedition. 
But the sullen Protector was greatly dissatisfied with his in- 
capable subordinates and was meditating the dispatch of 
another and more formidable expedition to the Antilles, when 
death put an end to his ambitious projects. 

Had this wonderful man, this indomitable spirit, controlled 
the destinies of Great Britain a decade longer, or if his im 
mediate successor had possessed a tithe of his talent and 
patriotism, the English flag would to-day wave in the gentle 
breezes that sway the cane fields and wanton over the wide 
savanahs of Cuba, Puerto Eico and Hayti, and fly on the 
summits of the tall mountain ranges which enclose the fertile 
valleys and elevated table lands of Central America. 

From the epoch of the conquest of Jamaica, British influ- 
ence was predominant on the coast of the Spanish main from 
Campeche, south and east to the reeking feiis and tropic 
jungles of the distant Isthuius of Panama. The paw of the 
British lion pressed heavily upon the Bay Islands. The gov- 
ernment laid claim to that territory since known as British 
Honduras and, in 1798, achieved its ultimate conquest. The 
entire Caribbean coasts of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua 
and Costa Eica were virtually subject to English rule, while 
the savage and yet unconquered tribes of Southern Yucatan, 
of Eastern Honduras and of Nicaragua, looked to Great 



210 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

Britain for material support against their common enemy, the 
Spaniards. 

Although the courts of Madrid and London were seldom 
at enmitj' "during this long period of British oppression -in 
Spanish America,' the subjects of both waged an unremitting 
war in the seas that washed the Spanish i30Ssessions and 
along their extended coasts. If the Court of St. James dis- 
avowed the piratical acts of the filibusters, the most success- 
ful of their leaders were welcomed at Whitehall and even 
enobled by the degenernte Stuarts. It was not until the buc- 
caneers began to prey upon British commerce that any attempt 
was made by the island sovereign to repress them. Then the 
British Government awoke to a sense of their crimes and 
assisted Spain to annihilate them. 

While retaining their hold upon their numerous settlements 
along the Caribbean coast, the English peojjle adopted a new 
method of aggression in Central America. If the most fero- 
cious and abandoned pirates were destroyed, the most humane 
gradually became peaceful merchants and civilized smugglers. 
If the sullen roar of piratical cannon and the sharp rattle of 
British musketry no longer sounded in the ears of the terrified 
Spanish-Americans, the gaily dressed English " contraband- 
ists " defied the rigor of the Spanish authorities and flooded 
Latin American marts with British manufactured goods. 

The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was the favorite resort 
of these gentry, while Graytown, Blueflelds and Corn Island 
were their principal headquarters. Again and again were 
they assailed by the Spanish naval and military forces, but 
they generally succeeded in beating off their assailants, and 
became more aggressive after each victory. 

During the Napoleonic wars the fleets of Great Britain 
swept triumphantly over the gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 
sea, and Trinidad and several other important Spanish Amer- 
ican possessions were permanently annexed to the British em- 
pire. Upon the assumption of the Spanish crown by Joseph 
Bonaparte, the Spanish colonies, incited by British emissaries, 
refused to acknowledge his authority, and after his fall re- 
belled against the mother country. Aided by the moral influ- 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 211 

ence, aud in many oases by the material assistance, of Great 
Britain, the rebellion was snccessful, and from the year 1821 
a majoritj'^ of the present Latin American nations date the 
epoch of their independence. 

The diseutegration of the vast colonial empire of Spain ren- 
dered its feeble fragments an easy prey to European avarice. 
The eiinnciation of the Monroe doctrine and the jealousy of 
the great powers prevented the conquest of Latin-America by 
England, France and Prussia, and the reconquest of portions 
of it by Spain. But England never relinquished her hold 
upon Central America until the successful termination of the 
Americo-Me.xican war warned her that the young colossus of 
the West was then her equal in power, and was destined in 
the very nenr future to entirely overshadow her and eventu- 
ally succeed to the heritage of her American possessions. 

Then tlie British government sullenly relinquished its pre- 
tentiouvs to political predominence in Central America. In 
their ignorance and simplicity, American statesmen were 
gulled into entering into the disgraceful Clayton Bulwer 
treaty ; and b> this act of supreme folly the spread of tine re- 
publican institutions was retarded, and the political influence 
01 the United States in Central America was shattered for 
thirty years. 

During the sixth decade of the present century the violence 
of the abolition agitation in the ISTorth, the birth of the Eepub- 
lican party and the promise it indicated of political supremacy 
in the near future, gave rise to a renewal of British aggres- 
sion in Central America. The English statesmen foresaw the 
approach of that terrible civil war which eventually devas- 
tated the fairest section of our country, and in alliance with 
the ambitious monarch of Prance determined to make a per- 
manent European impression upon Latin-America. France 
was to have Mexico, and England the entire eastern, or Car- 
ibbean, coast of Central America^ 

But that combat of the Titans, the battle between the Con- 
federate ironclad Merrimac, aud the Federal Monitor, in Hamp- 
ton roads, JMarch 9, 1862, taught England that none of the 
magnificent war ships she possessed at that epoch were able 



212 REPUBLIC OF NIOARAaUA. 

to cope with vessels of the construction of either of the two 
American ironclads. That memorable naval combat eventually 
shattered the triple alliance that sought to subvert Mexico, 
while the success of the Federal Governmont in the war of 
recession forever destroyed the fond hopes entertained by 
England of the appropriation of Central America. 

Since 1885, (Ireat Britain has faithfully carried out the pro- 
visions of her treaties with the Central American republics, 
but jealous of the growing power and influence of the United 
States clings with desperate tenacity to the Clayton — Bulwer 
treaty which documents many ot the American people now 
justly regard as so much waste paper. 

Such in brief is the history of ])ast British aggression in 
Oentral America. The filibustering expedition of Walker, in 
Mcaragua first opened the eyes of our people to its significance, 
the Federal successes, in 1865, shattered Great Britain's future 
political influence in Central America forever. 

At least so thought the American statesman of that era, but 
events which have subsequently occurred have proved that 
once more they had become the simple dupes of astute English 
diplomists. The treaty entered into, between Great Britain 
and jSTicaragua, in 1860, was so cunningly worded (notwith- 
standing the deep interest America took in this treaty) that 
innumerable pretexts might be seized to warrant further aggres- 
sion. In fact England has several times interfered with the 
tariff arrangements at Cape Gracias and Graytown, while the 
existence of Mosquito Eeservation is a constant menace to 
the Monroe doctrine, and an insult to iSTicaragua sovereignty. 

No matter how much an American might sympathize with 
the efforts made to civilize his people by the present Mosquito 
chief (and hereditary king) of the Mosquito Indians, politically 
speaking, the United States should never have permitted Eng- 
land's interference in the matter. Great Britain had no just 
right to claim j urisdictiou over any part of the Caribbean coast, 
while the treat}'- of 1860 leaves that power the actual protector 
of the Mosquito Eeservation. 

By the terms of this famous treaty, over 7000 square miles 
have been wrested from the jurisdiction of the Eepublic. If 



REPUBLIC OF NICAEAGUA. 213 

the latter is guaranteed ostensible sovereignty over the terri. 
tory in question, the Eeservation is virtually independent, and 
under the rule of an ambitious chieftain might be the cause of 
serious complications, if not a sanguinary war, between the 
Indian tribes and the Republic. 

The present chief, or king, as many style him, G-eorge William 
Albert Handy, is untutored as far as boaks are concerned, but 
is naturally sharp, shrewd and diplomatic. He has shown 
neither as much ambition nor skill as a warrior, as his dead 
brother Sula displayed, but having on several occasions evinced 
both courage and determination, there is no knowing what 
steps he might take were he assured of the material aid ot Great 
Britain. He could render his little capital at Bluefields, or, 
his residence at Pearl Lagoon, impregnable to the assaults of 
the government forces, while 6000 brave warriors would as- 
semble at his call, who could occasion infinite trouble and blood- 
shed before they were subdued. 

Meanwhile the Mosquito Reservation, with its large com^ 
merce, and the constant influx of immigrants, might eventually 
become the weak flank of the IsTicaragua government. In case 
of war with any foreign power, it would prove an excellent base 
of operations, while the capture and occupation of the ports of 
Graytown and Cape Gracias would effectually cut Mcaragua 
off from all communication with the Caribbean coast. 



CHAPTKR IV. 

Northern and Southern Boundaries— Both Yet Undetermined —Principal 
Mountain Eanges — Volcanic Peaks — Active Fire Mountains and Ex- 
tinct Crates — La Madera and Omotepe — Momotombo and Cosegnina — 
Small Lakes and Ponds — Varied Tropic Flora — The Great Lakes of 
Managua and Nicaragua. 

If the small space ISTicaragua occupies on the globe seems 
to warrant the cause of its present apparent political insig- 
nificance in the sisterhood of nations, the vast natural re- 
sources found in its fertile soil, its grand forestis and its prolific 
mines point it out as a locality destined to become more and 
more important as the wants of the commercial world become 
more importunate and varied. 

The Republic of Mcaragua comprises that portion of Cen- 
tral America found between the limits of 10° 45' and 15° 10' 
north latitude and 83° 11' and 87° 38' west longitude from 
G-reenwich. Its boundaries are the Atlantic ocean, or that 
l)art of the Atlantic between the West Indies and the conti- 
nent, commonly called the Caribbean sea, on the east ; on 
the south the Republic of Costa Rica; to the west the Pacific 
ocean, and on the north the Republic of Honduras. 

The dividing lines that separate Nicaragua from the neigh- 
boring republics have never been fairly determined. As far 
as the line on the Honduras frontier is concerned, ancient 
documents prove that the boundary between the two pro 
vinces on the Atlantic coast terminated at CapeCamaron. A 
capitulation made with the King of Spain, by Diego Guiterrez, 
dated November 29, 1540, tor the conquest of the locality 
now known as the Mosquitia, plainly says so. It is a well 
known fact that all the country comprehended between the 
Tinto and Coco rivers was subdued by Rojas, a lieutenant of 
the G-overnor of Nicaragua, in whose name he founded the 
City of Natividad, at Cape Gracias 4 Dios. 

Yet Juarros in his geography of the kingdom of Guatemala 
says that " the province of Honduras is limited on the east 



REPUBLIC OF NiCARAaUA. 215 

and southeast by Mcaragaa, and that the last of the Hondu- 
ranean rivers is the 'Plateuas'." On both modern and ancient 
maps this is a little river situated between the Black river and 
the Patook. Thus according to this authority Honduras never 
extended further to the east and south than the Patook. 

The same Juarros says that on the Pacific coast Honduras' 
ancient limit never passed the mouth of the Oholuteca river, 
which empties into the Gulf of Fonseca. All the old docu- 
ments that bear on this question say the same. Therefore the 
former boundary between Honduras and Mcaragua might be 
considered as lying directly on a straight line drawn from the 
mouth of the Patook river on the Atlantic to that of the Cho 
luteca on the Pacific coast. 

]!^ot long since a commission from either republic was di- 
rected to re-establish the proper boundaries. Mcaragua 
claimed the line just mentioned; Honduras demanded as her 
limit the Coco river in all its extent, and the Black river on 
the pacific slope. The Honduras commission never for an in- 
stant denied that the original limit of their republic was near 
Cape Camaron, but they said that none of the country from 
Cape Camaron to Boca del Toro (to the south of Costa Rica) 
ever belonged to the Spanish, but to Indians, who were always 
under the protection of the English. Therefore, the day that 
England ostensibly renounced said protectorate, a portion of 
this country belonged to each of the three republics, Honduras, 
Nicaragua and Costa Eica, and that Honduras claimed as far 
south as the river Coco on the Atlantic side, and the Negro 
river on the Pacific side. 

The commission eventually decided upon the following boun- 
dary : 

The line on the Bay of Fonseca to be located at a point 13° 3' 
north latitude, on the margin of the Negro river, and to follow 
that river until its union with the Guasaule, the Guasaule unti) 
its junction with the Torondauo, and the Torondauo up to its 
head. From thence over the mountains to the point where the 
range of Dipitlo separates. The line follows this range to the 
northeast as far as the plains, and from thence in a direct course 
to False Cape, to the north and east to the mouth of the Coco 



216 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

or Wanks river. The most eastern point of this dividing line 
is situated in latitude 15° 11' north, and longitude 83° 25' west. 

By this arrangement Nicaragua was deprived of more than 
3000 square miles of territory. On the west it lost some very 
valuable mineral lands, and on the' east the beautiful lake of 
Carastaca. The Moaraguan Congress has never ratified this 
treaty, thus the dividing line between these two republics has 
never been fixed. 

Nor have the Governments of Mcaragua and Costa Eica 
yet settled their boundary question with satisfaction to either, 
while the subject still gives rise, from time to time, to angry 
disputes. Nicaragua claims the territory of Guanacaste, which 
certainly was under her jurisdiction until 1825. Costa Rica 
maintains: First, that both Guanacaste and Nicoya belong to 
her as far as La Flor river, which stream, in times past, divi- 
ded Nicoya from Subtiaba ; second, that the margin of Lake 
Nicaragua and the right bank of the San Juan river, along 
its entire course, as far as El Castillo, belong to the jurisdic- 
tion of Guanacaste, and as the latter by right pertains to her, 
so does the territory claimed by Nicaragua ; third, that the 
right bank of the river San Juan, from El Castillo to the port 
of Graytown, belongs to her, legally, in virtue of various 
ancient documents, but above all, by the "real cedula" of the 
18th of February, 1574, which named Diego de Artieda y- 
Chirinos, Governor of Costa Rica, and defined the limits of his 
jurisdiction. The Costa Rican officials also point to the '"Capi- 
tulacion " of the 29th of November, 1540. 

To these specious arguments Costa Eica adds those that she 
derives from her geographical position, according to which 
her natural limits are the banks of the San Juan river, the 
southwestern bank of Lake Nicaragua and the Sapoa river, as 
far as the Bay of Salinas, and the fact of the annexation of 
Guanacaste to Costa Eica in 1825, which was legalized by the 
Federal Congress of the united Central American republic — 
since destroyed — of the same year. 

Such was the situation in 1857. 

In 1858, very shortly after the expulsion of the American 
filibusters, the two governments entered into a boundary treaty 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 217 

on the 15th of Ai^ril. The government of Nicaragua has since 
rejected this treaty. The terms of article 2 of this compact are 
as follows : 

The boundary line of the Caribbean coast begins at the point 
of the castle at the mouth of the river San Juan, and follows 
the right bank south of the Castillo, at a distance of three 
miles from the fortifications. From this locality it forms a 
curve, the centre of which is said fortifications, but the curve 
constantly maintains the distance of three miles from the fort 
up to a point above the castle, and two miles from the bank of 
the river. The line continues parallel to the turns of the river 
and the southern bank of the lake, at the distance of two miles 
from same to the river Sapoa. From this point, which is well 
determined, that is, two miles north of the lake, an imaginary 
line is drawn to the centre of the Salinas Bay, on the Pacific. 

At the epoch of the independence the province of Nicaragua 
claimed to possess about 58,000 square miles. The treaties with 
Honduras and Costa Rica have reduced its territory to some- 
where about 40,000 square miles. The modern republic, then, 
is 200 miles long by about the same width. Its shape very 
much resembles an isosceles triangle, whose base is the Carib- 
bean coast and whose apex is the cone of the volcano of Cos- 
eguina. 

The Caribbean coast, from Cape Gracias 4 Dios south to 
Gra:vtown, is 300 miles long. Of this extent, 150 miles north 
and south and fifty miles into the interior is set apart for the 
Mosquito reservation, which latter comprises some 7500 square 
miles. The Pacific coast, from northwest to southeast, is about 
20Q miles long, and possesses two fine ports. Corinto is situ- 
ated on a pretty little bay, and is the terminus of the railroad. 
San Juan del Sur is a fine, safe harbor, but is com[)aratively 
unimportant at present. The Caribbean ports are Gracias, 
Pearl Lagoon, Bluefields, Corn Island and Graytown. 

The central knot of the Honduras-Nicaraguan chain of moun- 
tains is situated at, or near, Sulaco, in the centre of the Re- 
public of Honduras. The principal range follows a south- 
western course, and under the name of the Sierra de Macuelizo 
or San Marcos, reaches as far south as Frijolillo. From thence 

15 



218 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 



it suddenly turns to the southeast and follows this general 
course amid many turns and windings as far as the valley of 
the San Juan river. This last e^^tension may be divided into 
four principal sections. The first extends from the hill of Fri- 
jolillo to the mountain .of Jinjajapa, or Boete. It commences 
in the Sierra de la Botija, whose principal peaks are the Ya- 
riador, the San Sebastian and the Caguasca. Then follow 
two notable necks, the Portillo Liso and the Portales, and 
afterwards the Sierra de las Tablas. 

The second section extends between the hills of Jinjajapa 
and the barranca of Tamarindo. It is more irregular and merits 
special attention. It at first takes a northerly direction, pass- 
ing by the hills of Yuscaran as far as Moropotente. At this 
point it turns to the east passing by the Rodeo and the moun- 
tain of Tali, and from thence proceeds to the south and widens 
into a tableland between San Rafael and Jiuotega, dividing the 
waters of the San Rafael river, which empties into lake Ma- 
nagua, from the river San Grabriel. Between Jinotega and 
Matagalpa it bears the name of the Sierra of Guaguali or 
Robles, and takes a general southwesterly direction, up to the 
valley of San Salvador, from whence it turns towards the south 
passing by the hills of Piedra Colorada and Picota. This last 
forms a neck — or isthmus- which unites with the hill of 
Pando. 

Such is the line of the Cordillera in Central Nicaragua not- 
withstanding volcanic convulsions posterior to its formation, 
disturbed the primitive harmony of the mountain syf?tem and 
its spurs ; but more than all in the section first described. The 
watercourses of the department of Matagalpa, which un- 
doubtedly should find their way to lake Managua, have been 
violently diverted from their course by a formidable obstruc- 
tion, the mountain of Guisisil — 4500 feet above the plain — 
which is situated in the tableland of Totumbla. 

The third section commences at the cerro of Pando and ter- 
minates in the mountain of Qiiimichapa. Its most notable 
elevations are, the range of the Ojos de Agua, the hill of Cer- 
badilla, the mountain of Siguatepe — dominated by the hill of 
Pans — the Portillo de das Lajas, the Oluma, the Tablazon, 



REPUBLIC OF NICAKAaUA. 219 

the table of Oatnoapa, the neck or collar of the Paso Eeal, that 
of the Puerto at the foot of the hill of Buenavista, the peak of 
Santa Bula and the hills of Tierra Ooloracla. 

The fourth section reaches from the mountain of Quiraichapa 
to the neck, or collar, of the Castillo, in the valley of the San 
Juan. This chain, which has several peaks that range from 
3000 to 4000 feet above the plain, gradually descends to an 
elevation ol but 600 to 700 feet. It traverses a mountain which 
has never been explored on account of the deep chasms and 
fissures that seam its sides. 

There are several famous volcanoes in Nicaragua which of 
late years have shown signs of activity. They do not form a 
chain of mountains nor do they belong to any particular range, 
but rise lone and isolated, high above the plains and table 
lands. Their peaks form regular cones and present two es- 
pecial features : First, all their summits are in the same rec- 
tilinear direction. Second, this direction is, at the same time, 
almost parallel with the Pacific coast and with the central 
Cordillera. For that reason the great valley of Nicaragua to 
the Pacific should be divided into four distinct lines. 1. The 
coastline. 2. The foot-hills, which are the spinal column cf 
the neck, that separates the lakes from the ocean. 3. The line 
traced by the volcanos, and 4. the Cordillera itself which forms 
the limit of the grand valley that contains the lakes. 

The volcanic peaks of Nicaragua may be seen by the mariner, 
who skirts the Pacific coast, a long distance from the shore and 
serve as land marks. As their latitude and longitude is well 
known, the sight of their tall summits indicates to the naviga- 
tor their precise position in the watery waste. 

The first Nicaraguan volcano in the long chain south, is La 
Madera. Its peak, which attains an altitude above the plain 
of 4190 feet, is truncated. It has a common base with its near 
neighbor Ometipe whose summit is 5350 above the tableland. 
Both these volcanos are situated on an island in the great lake 
of Nicaragua. Their craters show no signs of even compara- 
tively late activity, nor are any traditions extant concerning 
past eruptions. 



220 REPUBLIC OF NlCARAaUA. 

The peak of Zapatera, although properly s])eaking is not a 
volcano, yet presents undoubted evidence of volcanic origin. 
Higher up but on the main land, near the city of Granada the 
truncated peak of Mombacho rises 4588 feet above the surface 
of the lake. It has for a long time been quiet, but during the 
period of its activity, the aspect it presented must have been 
grand and sublime. A short distance from Mombacho is sit- 
uated the truncated peak of Masaya, 3000 feet above the level 
of the plain. It was in a state of activity a few years since. 
Its last eruption took place on the tenth of November, 1858 ; 
on the sixteenth of March, 1772, it vomited forth a torrent of 
lava two miles wide, which to-day covers with unsightly heaps 
of scoria all the northeastern side of the mountain, presenting 
a huge, black, desolate stain in the wide zone of vegetation 
which on three sides surrounds it. 

The peninsula of Ohiltepe advances from the southern bank 
of Lake Managua, near the capital, far into its waters. It is 
similar to the island of Zapatera, a volcanic mole whose posi- 
tion in the general line of Nicaragiiau volcanoes will not permit 
one to doubt its volcanic character. Its highest elevation is 
2800 feet. 

In the northeast angle of Iiake Managua the majestic sharp 
peak of Momotombo rears its tall summit 6121 feet above the 
sufrouuding waters. A short distance to the right is situated 
its miniature or counterpart, the Momotombito, which forms 
an islet on the bosom of the lake. Momotombo, for a long pe- 
riod inactive, awoke from its lethargic slumber in 1852. But 
up to date its eruptions have not been formidable, although it 
constantly emits m^ore or less smoke. At times a rumbling 
sound is heard within its vast interior and slight earthquake 
shocks invariably, follow. , 

After Momotombo, the line traced by the volcanic chain 
inclines to the west. The cones that compose it are united at 
their bases and form a range called la Serra de los Marrabios. 
It occupies a centre of a general geologic elevation whose most 
perfectly known portion is the plain of Leon. The slopes of 
this table incline insensibly downward on the northern side, 
but to the south present a series of stony branches, broken by 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 221 

numerous chasms which extend to the sea, between the neck — 
or isthmus — ot Nagarote and that of Rama Gacha, and the 
volcanoes of Santa Clara. The principal of these volcanoes are 
Asososca, Las Pilas, two peaks 4000 feet high ; Orota 2,700, 
Telica 4190, Santa Clara and El Viejo, which latter is a sharp 
peak 6266. To these might be added the Chonco, which fol- 
lows the sierra of the Marrabios, although physically it does 
not form part of it. There are in this region numerous other 
volcanic peaks, but they are insignificant when compared with 
the aboved mentioned volcanoes. 

Forty miles to the northeast of the Viejo rises the truncated 
cone of Ooseguiua, 3835 feet in the air. This volcano is 
famous for its terrible eruption in 1835, when it threw ashes 
over a circle of 1500 miles in diameter. It occupies the centre 
of a peninsula that extends far into the soutliern side of the 
gulf of Fonseca. On the north side of this gulf is the volcanic 
cone of Oonchagua, 3866 feet high. It is situated near the 
port of La Union, San Salvador. From this point the vol- 
canic chain extends almost to the southern limit of Mexico. 

These two gigantic mountains guard the entrance to the 
grand gulf of Fonseca and present admirable opportunities for 
tri angulation, which will certainly be taken advantage of 
when an exact topographical map of the country is made. 

In that portion of Nicaragua situated between the great 
lakes and the central Cordillera, it seems evident that another 
line of volcanoes was once in process of formation. A vast 
number of elevated cones run almost parallel with the vol- 
canic chain just described, notwithstanding in certain places 
their proximity to the Cordillera proves that they are not ex- 
actly isolated, but rather form part of the spurs of that chain, 
whose physical condition has often been completely modified 
as far as its western slopes are concerned. These latter ex- 
tend over a region that is eminently volcanic. Many of the 
hills are visible from the lake, the most important being Yeu- 
tanillas, from which flows the river Tule. 

There are several small lakes without outlets which seem to 
owe their origin to the volcanoes — at least such bodies of 
water only occur in Central Ameiica in regions that indicate 



222 REPUBLIC OF NIOARAaUA. 

volcanic disturbances. The first is called the Appyo or 
Diriomo, near Granada. The surface of its water is 780 feet 
above the level of the sea. It is picturesquely situated in a 
vast amphitheatre, whose wall rises 900 feet high. It con- 
tains an area of four square miles and is said to be very deep. 

l^ear Masaya is situated the lake of the same name. It is 
340 feet lower than the city, which is 750 feet above the sea. 
It has an area of ten square miles ; and as it has never been 
properly sounded, the ignorant people of the neighborhood 
think it has no bottom. 

A short distance from the city of Managua is found the 
little lake Tiscapa. It is but a half mile in diameter, with a, 
depth of 80 feet at its edges and 160 in the centre. ¥ear it 
are situated the ponds of Nejapo and Asosasca. This region 
seems to have been the scene of numerous geological changes. 
The volcanic hill Motastape, located between these two small 
lakes, is the result of some snch convulsion. These two ponds 
are each about a half mile in diameter and possess a depth of 
from 250 to 300 feet. 

In the peninsula of Chiltepe is the pond Jilua, and in the 
hills of Los Marrabios are several other small ponds, such as 
El Tigre and the Moyotepe. 

While many of the volcanic mountains, mentioned, are bleak 
and bare, the bases and far up the sides of those which may 
be considered as extinct are covered with an exquisite and 
varied growth of vegetation. The little valleys at their bases 
are carpeted with luxuriant grass, intermingled with flowers 
and flowering shrubs, while in certain localities, vast numbers 
of giant tropical trees strike their huge roots deep into the 
fertile soil. At the bases of the mountains the mahogany, 
cedar, ceiba and tamarind mingle their frondose foliage. Fur- . 
ther up their sides, the oak, the beach and the sycamore find 
a congenial soil and climate, while still further upwards the 
hardy pine thrives in the cold breezes that career downward 
from the bleak summits of the volcanic peaks. 

These mountain slopes and foot-hill sides produce extended 
areas of grass which furnishes excellent pasturage for large 
and small cattle ; vast herds of fat steers roam amid the cha- 



REPUBLIC OP NICARAaUA. 223 

paral that follows the forest growth, while in the region where 
the oak thrives best, hardy goats and sheep find perennial 
herbage that affords nutritious subsistence. These localities 
are destined, in the near future, to furnish an ample supply 
for the beef markets of the West Indies and, perhaps, those 
also of Europe. 

A thousand little valleys lie snugly eusconsed within the 
mountain chain and its numerous spurs and ramifications. 
Constant streams of water net- work their surface, and irriga- 
tion may be employed with perfect success. But the majority 
of the little tropic paradises- are unoccupied and lie idle, 
awaiting the hand of man to develop their productiveness. 
Their soil has lain fallow and untouched for 350 years, for the 
ruthless sword of the conqueror and the deadly march of 
famine and pestilence have swept away the millions of happy 
and industrious natives who once harvested prolific crops, 
where, to-day, the cry of the wild bird is the only sound that 
breaks the funereal silence that reigns in these lone localities. 

Lake Managua, which was known to the aboriginies by 
the name of Xolotlan, is about thirty-seven iniles long by 
twelve miles (average) wide, and contains an area of 444 square 
miles. Its altitude is 169 feet above the level of the Pacific 
ocean. Two points from the opposite sides advance far into 
waters and give it the appearance of a figure 8. The north- 
ern point is low and may be considered a continuation of the 
hill Gruisisil, the other is the volcanic ])eninsula Ohiltepe. The 
only island within its limits is that which serines as a base for 
the peak of Momotombito. 

This lake is rather shallow and contains numerous movable 
sandy bars which render its navigation somewhat dangerous 
for fair sized vessels. Several small steamers, at present, ply 
over its waters, while a daily line affords communication bet- 
ween Leonviejo, the present terminus of the Central railroad, 
and the city of Managua, thecapital of the republic. 

The margins of the northern side are almost unoccupied ; 
on the southern bank are found the cities of Mateares, Mana- 
gua and Tipitapa. There are numerous little rivers and streams 



224 REPUBLIC OF NICARAaUA. 

which discharge their* waters into its bosom, but they are 
generally dry in the summer season. 

The river Tipitapa is the outlet, or rather strait, that con- 
nects the two great lakes. It is sixteen miles long, but is not 
navigable on account of the rapids and rocks that line its bed. 
Its average width is 125 yards. 

The greatlakeKicaragua, is ninety-six miles long and forty 
miles wide in one place. As its average width is twenty miles 
it possesses an area of about 2000 square miles. Its depth is 
irregular ; in some places the surroundings are forty-five fath- 
oms, in others from twelve to twenty-five and thirty feet. Cur- 
rents are visible but their direction is uncertain, while strange 
to say its waters are infested with huge sharks which are ex- 
ceedingly voracious. It is 129 feet above the Caribbean sea 
at its lowest stage. During the dry mouths its waters are 
from five to seven feet lower than in the height of the rainy 
season. 

A great many rivers and streams, some of them constant, 
empty into the lake, while numerous islets, the most of them 
inhabited, dot its calm bosom. The port of G-ranada is formed 
by a curve in the beach and is protected by a group of more 
than 100 little islets. It carries from twenty to twenty-four 
feet of water with a sandy bottom that proves excellent hold- 
ing ground for anchors. The island of Ometepe is twelve miles 
long. Its northern portion is rocky, but the southern half is 
extraordinarily fertile and contains two little villages. 

The city of Granada, the second centre of population in size 
and in importance in i^icaragua, is situated on its margin and 
is connected with the capital by an excellent wagon road. 

The western coast is quite close to the Pacific, being separ- 
ated from it by only a narrow isthmus but seventeen miles 
wide. This neck of land presents but few obstacles to the con- 
struction of a canal which would unite its waters with the great 
ocean. 



CHAPTER V. 

Nicaragnan RiTers— The Coco, or Wanks — The Sio Grande — The Mico 
or Blueflelds and the San Juan Rivers — They are Divided into Three 
Portions as the Land Gradually Slopes Down to the Sea — Grand 
Tropic Forests — Eich Mineral Lands — Marvelously Fertile Soil — Port 
of Graytown to be Restored — Principal Rivers and Ports on the Pa- 
cific Coast. 
The eastern slope of the great Kicaraguan Cordillera carries 
to the Caribbean coast the waters of numerous rivers whose 
copiousness is derived from the leugth of their course, the num- 
ber of their affluents, and the great quantity of water that falls 
on the wilds they traverse. Four of these rivers are of the 
first order and are navigable for a considerable distance. They 
are the Coco or Wanks, the Rio Grande, the Mico .and the 
San Juan. 

G-enerally the course of these rivers may be divided into three 
parts. The first portion waters the high lands and the moun- 
tain slopes and are not navigable. It comprises numerous 
little streams and watercourses, of but little individual impor- 
tance, but which unite and form the principal river. The 
second portion is navigable only for small boats, but the bed 
is obstructed and in many places rapids and falls impede the 
way. The third portion is quite deep and is navigable for fair 
sized steamers from the last rapid or fall to the sea coast. The 
freshets that occur during the rainy season, which swell the 
violence of the current, tears immense trees from the banks 
.which sink and in time the accumulated debris forms little 
islands, or shallow bars, that more or less obstruct navigation. 
This is invariably the case at the mouths of each of the rivers 
of Central America, for even the mouth of the Mico or Blue- 
field river has a bar that carries but twelve feet of water. 

The Coco is the least known of all the Central American 
rivers, yet it has often been navigated by buccaneers, tourists 
and missionaries. The filibuster Ravaneau published a fair 
account of it. The Jesuit father, liTavarro, and the English 



226 REPUBLIC OF NICAEAaUA. 

captain, Haly, have also described it. The Coco is three hun- 
dred miles long, but as it runs through a narrow valley and 
has but few feeders, it does not contain the volume of water 
warranted by its length. Its general course is from the west 
to the northeast. It rises at the Portillo Liso, where is is known 
by the name of the river Tapacac, and a short distance to the 
east receives the waters of several little streams. Where it 
unites with the Macuelizo it takes the name of Ocotal. On its 
further course it is swelled by the contents of numerous moun- 
tain torrents, and when it joins with the Jicaro, it is known as 
the Telpaneca river. Many miles further to the northeast it 
passes through a wide plain called el Llano Coco. From this 
point it takes the name of the Coco river, and thus it is gen- 
erally called by the natives of the country. 

But this river possesses a vast number of other names by 
which it is indifferently called by foreigners. The English 
mahogapy cutters always style it the Wanks or l>enks. The 
mariners of the same nation know it as the Cape river. The 
buccaneers, who ascended it as high as Segovia, which place 
they several times sacked, called it the Segovia river. The 
Spaniards invariably mention it as the Gracias river, and the 
missionaries, as the Phantasm or Encuentro, while the Indians 
invariably style it the Toro. This last is probably the true 
name, or at least that which it bore at the period of the con, 
quest. 

Four miles above the mouth a creek, that flows from lake 
Gracias a Dios, empties into the right side of the river; on 
the west side of this lake is situated the port of Gracias or 
Cape town. Two hundred years ago this lake, or rather little 
bay, which now has an area of six square miles, was an excel-, 
lent port. It has but twelve or fifteen feet of depth while the 
entrance is not more than twenty yards wide, with from seven 
to eight feet of water on the bar. 

The Rio Grande, or the Matagalpa, river rises in the sierra 
of Guaguali 5 eight miles from its source it passes by Mata- 
galpa, the capital of the department of the same name. A 
little below the town of Sebaco it takes the name of Chocoyas 
and runs in a southerly direction — receiving by the way the 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 227 

waters of numerous rivulets and streams — to tlie little town 
of Esquipulas, and from this point is known as the Rio 
Grande. From its source to its junction with the Oloma, at 
Yulvul, its length is but eighty miles. On this stretch of its 
course it is not navigable. At Vulvul ends the civilized por- 
tion of the country, and the river's banks, as far as Tooma, 
are dotted with the habitations of aborigines. But these 
natives are harmless and peaceable, and assist the traveler in 
every jiossible manner suggested by their simple views of 
hospitality. From Vulvul to Tooma is sixty miles. From 
Tooma to the sea the distance is about 100 miles. Along this 
portion of the river the scenery is majestic. It averages 300 
yards wide and fifteen feet deep in the channel, while naviga- 
tion is unobstructed. About ten miles from the bar it widens 
into a little lake, on the northern end of which is situated the 
Mosquite town of Walpa. 

The bar is very dangerous and seldom carries more than 
eight feet of water. It was at this place Columbus lost a boat 
and its crew. He baptized the river bj^ the name of El Rio 
del Desastre. With exception of the difflculties presented by 
the bar, the last ninety miles of the Rio Grande is a magnifi- 
cent water highway, and offers the most excellent advantages 
for agriculturists and emigrants. 

The river Mico or Bluefields rises in a sierra near the town 
of Libertad, in the centre of the mineral district of Ohontales, 
and in the course of a few miles receives the waters of the 
Bala, the Jabali, Sal to, and many other rivers and streams of 
more or less importance, all of which, with their rapid cur- 
rents, furnish excellent water power. Its general course is 
from west to east. About fifteen miles from La Libertad it 
enters the uncivilized region and is navigable for the small 
boats of the aborigines, who call it the Rushwass. It waters 
a vast region covered with virgin forests interspersed with 
flowering plains. For fifty miles its course is frequently inter- 
rupted by rapids and snigs, and this condition continues 
until its junction with the Wapee or Escondido. 

This latter is formed by the two rivers, Murra and Siquia, 
which form their currents at the foot of the hill Wapee. Its 



228 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

scenery is very beautiful and varied, and at Kisilala are found 
the falls of the same name which are 100 feet high. The val- 
leys of the rivers Murra and Siquia present extraordinarily 
excellent opportunities for the establishment of various kinds 
of enterprises. 

Below its junction with the Wapee, the Mico is navigable to 
its bar, a distance of forty miles, for vessels of twelve feet 
draft. It empties into the Blueflelds bay, and besides its prin- 
cipal mouth, has more than twenty others, which may be 
entered by small boats. 

The lagoon, or bay, of Blueflelds, in the Mosquito reser- 
vation, possesses an area of 100 square miles. Its principal 
entrance is just five miles south of the mouth of the Mico. 
The bar that separates it from the Caribbean sea is never dan- 
gerous, but it seldom carries more than twelve feet of water. 
The lagoon, in some places, is quite deep, but it is gradually 
filling up with sediment brought down by the Mico and 
several other small rivers which empty with it. In the centre 
of the entrance to the bay is the islet of Casada, and in front, 
on the opposite margin, is situated the Mosquito city of Blue- 
fields at the foot of the hill Aberdeen. 

The San Juan river is probably the most important water- 
course in Central America, for it is the outlet for the great 
lakes of Managua and Nicaragua and carries their surphis 
waters to the sea. In consequence, Mr. L^'vy, the French en- 
gineer who so thoroughly explored Nicaragua and published 
an interesting work regarding the republic in 1870, considers 
the valley of the San Juan as extending from the western 
bank of Lake Managua to the sea at the Grraytown bar. He 
divides it into four sections, which he separates as follows : 

1. Lake Managua and all its tributary rivers. 

2. The river Tipitapa, which unites the two great lakes. 

3. Lake Nicaragua and all rivers that enter into it. 

4. The outlet through which is discharged the waters of the 
vast hydraulic system of Central Nicaragua. 

The lakes have been described briefly in the foregoing 
pages. The outlet so called by Mr. Levy is a large river that 
under any and all circumstances is destined to be always 



REPUBLIC OF NICABAaUA. 229 

utilized as the principal transportation via of southeastern 
Nicaragua. It flows from the southeastern extremity of the 
lake, between Sau Carlos and the river Frio. Its length is 
120 miles and its general aspect is that of a great river, with 
an average width of 150 yards. Its banks are covered with 
extensive virgin forests. 

From San Carlos to El Castillo the San Juan may be justly 
considered as a mere prolongation of the lake. At this point 
the waters flow over a species of rapids into another bed, nine 
feet below. A!: San Carlos, which is commonly considered the 
end of the lake, the San Juan is about a quarter of a mile 
wide and seven or eight feet deep during the dry season. 
Thus, when the waters are lowest the volume that passes over 
the rapids is at least 4800 cubic yards per minute. 

At Toro, a distance of four miles from San Carlos, the river 
is obstructed by a collection of rocks, which have on one 
side a channel of eight feet depth. With the exception of 
rocks at Bl Toro, the bottom of the river is sandy. From this 
point to the sea it is navigable for small steamers the whole 
year round. At its mouth is situated Graytowu, the principal 
port on the Caribbean sea. 

Within the memory of the present generation of American 
seamen, San Juan del ISTorte, or, as it is styled by foreigners, 
Graytown, was one of the best and most spacious seaports on 
the Caribbean coast of Central America 

During the early years of the sixth decade of the present 
century, the celebrated American ship owner, Com. Cornelius 
Vanderbilt, established a weekly line of steamers between 
Kew York City and Graytown. This enter])rise was under- 
taken for the purpose of facilitating the transportation of ad- 
venturous Americans to the gold fields of California. They 
were landed at Graytown and carried by small steamboats up 
the grand river San Juan to the lakes, and from thence to San 
Juan del Sur, on the Pacific side, where they re-embarked in 
steamers for the port of San Francisco. This system of light 
freight and passenger transportation proved very convenient 
to travelers tmd profitable to the steamship lines, until the 
successful opening of the Panama railroad to passenger and 



230 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

freight traffic, in the latter part of the year 1855. Yaritlerbilt 
theu directed his steamers to the new port of Aspinwall, since 
denominated Colon, by the authorities of the republic of Co- 
lombia, and the Caribbean port of ISIicaragua was virtually 
deserted. 

In the same year — 1855 — the mighty mass of water that forms 
the current of the San Juan river burst its left bank near the 
Colorado, and discharged a vast portion of its volume over the 
adjacent lowlands into that little stream. The bar at the mouth 
of the San Juan, which until that epoch had carried thirty feet 
of water at low tide, no longer experiencing the scouring effects 
of the former quantity of water that had hitherto poured over 
it, began gradually to receive the muddy deposits that came 
down held in solution by the water. The wide expanse fronting 
the port also began to fill, and grew shallower as years passed, 
until to-day, where twenty-five years ago vessels of the deepest 
draft swung safely at anchor, a long, low island covered with 
bamboo cane and willow trees, stretches out to the thither side 
of the liver. 

The unfortunate political condition of the republic, the 
Walker troubles, the interminable emeutes and revolutions 
that desolated the country for the succeeding decade prevented 
the government from taking any steps toward restoring the 
port to its former condition and improving the navigation of 
the river. In the words of Mr. Theodore Hocke, who lately 
surveyed the San Juan from its source in the lake to Gray- 
town : 

"The San Carlos river brings in tremendous quantities of 
silt, which has almost entirely filled up the old bed of the San 
Juan to Grraytown, and with great damage done to the port by 
shifting bars, it has made navigation almost an impossibility, 
as the vast muss of the San J nan water is directed into the 
channel of the Rio Colorado and lost to In icaragua. This will 
be remedied by cutting a canal from the head of San Carlos 
river entrance along the San Juauillo to Graytowu, and by 
there building a breakwater. With some dredging it is ex- 
pected 10 form a harbor of sufficient depth to receive the Royal 
Mail steamships of twenty-six feet draft. 



REi^UBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 231 

" The surveys for this work are under way and will soon be 
completed. , The government will advertise for bids to do the 
work by contract. The approximate cost is estimated at from 
$2,500,000 to $3,000,000. To secure payment the government 
will soon make a loan in Europe." 

A Nicaraguan envoy was last year in England watching the 
money market. He received fair i)ropositions from various 
" syndicates, but as Nicaragua's credit is unsurpassed, from the 
fact of her well known solvency, this gentleman refused to 
enter into any arrangement, basing his action upon the hope of 
obtaining still better terms than those offered him. 

It will be safe to assume that early in the year 1885 the 
work Of re opening the San Juan river to navigation will be 
commenced. 

On the Pacific slope the distribution of perennial water- 
courses is less diffuse, while but few of the rivers are navi- 
gable even for small boats. The Pacific coast of the republic 
is about 200 miles long, from the gulf of Fonseca to that of 
Salinas. The water is bold up to the very coast, while neither 
reefs nor shallows render navigation dangerous The waves 
dash high on the steep sandy beach, while the surf, which is 
denominated "LaTasca" by the natives, is remarkably violent 
and constant. The two extremities of the coast termijiate in 
bays. These latter form first-class harbors, which as yet are 
unfrequented. The distance between the coast and the foot- 
hills being very short, the watercourses which drain this re- 
gion are inconstant and of but little importance. 

The bay, or gulf, of Fonseca has every appearance of having 
once been an interior lake, but some grand convulsion of na- 
ture tore the huge coast line of mountains asunder and left an 
opening eighteen miles wide and of vast depth, which com- 
municates with the ocean. 

The first river of importance on this coast is the Oholuteca, 
which courses through a territory claimed by both Honduras 
and iSTicaragua. It rises in the mountains of ITle and Lepa- 
terique. Its course is remarkably serpentine, and it receives 
so many affluents that its volume is considerable. It passes 
close. to the citj^ of Tegucigalpa, in Honduras, and empties 



232 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

into the gulf of Ponseca, A.t)oiit ten miles from its mouth, on 
its left bank, is situated the city of Choluteca. The mouth 
forms a wide, deep creek, through which the ocean tides pen- 
etrate a long distance into the interior. 

The Eio Negro, or Black river, rises in the foothills of Ca- 
guasca, and during its course receives the waters of numerous 
little streams, the principal of which is the Queso. It flows 
for a short distance to the south and then turns to the west. 
Its course forms a small semi-circle. One of its branches, the 
Guasaule, is as large and important as the main river, and has 
been proposed as the boundary limit between Honduras and 
Nicaragua. At the village of Amatillo the Eio Negro for- 
merly flowed in a direct course to the sea, but its bed below 
this point was entirely filled up with ashes during the famous 
eruption of the volcano Coseguino in 1835. Et opened another 
way towards the northeast and emptied in a wide marsh called 
Salinas G-raudes. This new course was closed in 1844, in con- 
sequence of an earthquake. Then the river crossed its old 
bed and flowed towards the southeast. This bed filled up in 
1853 during an unusual freshet, and the river forced its new 
course to the south and empties into a marshy lagoon called 
Los Peregilos. The river Palo Blanco also empties ii^to this 
lagoon. 

At the southern extremity of the gulf of Ponseca a wide, 
deep creek extends some fifty miles into the interior. It is 
300 yards wide, and thirty miles from its mouth carries three 
fathoms of water. It is known as El Estero Eeal. 

The peninsula of Goseguina contains several safe ports. 
The port of Eosario is quite spacious. Eight miles to the 
westward is a group ot rocky islets named lios Farallones. 

Several small rivers empty into the harbor of Corinto, which 
is one of the best protected anchorages on the coast. The 
little town of Corinto is the principal seaport possessed by 
Nicaragua on the Pacific slope and is the terminus of the rail- 
road from Lake Managua. 

Between Corinto to Cape Desolado, a distance of forty-five 
miles, are the mouths of the rivers Leon and Tamarindo. The. 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. • 233 

entrance to the last named river forms a pretty little port, 
which carries deep water close to the shore on either side. 

Between Cape Desolado and Point Oaseras, numerous small 
rivers empty into the sea. The greater number of them are 
dry in the summer season, but their outlets form deep creeks 
into which vessels of fair draft may enter and seek shelter 
from the storms that, in the wet months, often rage along this 
coast. Point (Jasares shelters a fine anchorage. Between 
this place and the Bay of Salinas— a stretch of thirty-five 
miles — are the ports of El Brito, Nacascolo and San Jaan del 
Sur. This latter is small but deep and safe. It is connected 
with the Great Lake by a macadamized road which was made 
by Vanderbilt, when his ships touched at Greytown, from 
1851 to 1855. 

The Bay of Salinas forms a beautiful deep port, of circular 
shape, which contains an area of about eight square miles. 
No river enters into it, thus, in consequence, it receives no 
sedimentary deposits. In the middle of the bay is an island 
which marks the western terminus of the boundary line, bet- 
ween Nicaragua and Oosta Rica, according to the treaty of 
1858. The valleys that open upon the bay are extremely fer- 
tile and possess a remarkably healthy climate. It is difiScult 
to comprehend why such an advantageous locality should be 
neglected. While emigrants from Europe are seeking homes 
in cold Canada and dry and arid Australia, it seems strange 
that lands so happily situated, so fertile and, above all, blessfed 
with such healthy climates, should continue abandoned and 
desolate while millions of human beings, in the Old World, 
scarcely manage to gain a miserable living, by the sweat of 
their brow, cultivating a worn out soil that, even with the 
use of the best fertilizers, scarcely returns paying crops. 

A general impression prevails that Central America is a 
vast region whose surface is dotted by unsightly bleak and 
barren mountains, and whose few plains are watered by rivers 
whose banks are marshy and reek with malaria and pestilence. 
A few Americans who have visited San Jose, Acajutla,Corinto, 
San Juan del Sur, Salinas and Punta Arenas, on the Pacific 
coast, and Trujillo, Gracias, Bluefields, Pearl Lagoon, Gray- 

16 



234 • REPUBLIC OP NICARAGUA. 

town and Port Limou, on the Oa,ribbean side, where malarial 
fevers of a light type are prevalent in the summer, season as 
a general case, return their homes and report Central America 
as being an unhealthy territorj^, where deadly fevers rage, in 
epidemic form, the year round. 

As these self-styled travelers have seldom penetrated into 
the interior, they are utterly ignorant of the sanitary situation 
in Central America. There are numerous officers of steamers 
sailing out of this port to the Central American coast and the 
Bay Islands who circulate the" same doleful accounts of the 
climate of Guatemala and Spanish Honduras. As they have 
never been any distance "into the interior, they know as little 
of the climatic condition of those republics as a person who has 
touched at Port Eads, but has not ascended the river does of 
the climate and surroundiugs of the Crescent City. 

The fact is almost two-thirds of the entire territory of Cen- 
tral America, from the Sarstoon river to the southern limits 
of Costa Rica, is blessed by as healthy a climate as the most 
favored locality on the planet. At from thirty to fifty miles 
from the Caribbean coast the land suddenly rises until it attains 
an altitude of from 2000 to 4000 feet above tne level of the sea. 
At this elevation the exuberant vegetation of the tro])ics ceasev* 
and is superseded by the exquisite flora of the semi-tropic zone. 
If certain fruits of the extreme tropics languish and will not 
develop there are other species that still thrive well, while 
thfe coffee plant, the orange, the lemon, the citron, the lime and 
other fruits of a hardier nature are produced in a soil and fos- 
tered by a climate in every way conduci\'e to their perfect 
development. 

At a distance of 3000 feet above the level of the sea the ma- 
hogany, brazil, cedar, tamarind vera and amarilio disappear, 
and the oak, the larch, the sycamore and giant laurel mingle 
their foilage with the z'apote and the ahuehuete, and at an ele- 
vation of 4000 feet the southern pine reaches a size and height 
far superior to the stunted specimens seen iu northern climes. 

The City of Guatemala is situated at an altitude of 4500 feet 
above the sea. San Jose, Costa Eica, is 4000 feet. Teguci- 
galpa, Honduras, is 3000 feet. Segovia, Nicaragua, is 5000 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 235 

feet. Tims all these .cities, although lying in the extreme 
tropics, enjoy a semi-temperate climate. 

At an elevation of 2500 feet above the level of the sea ma- 
larial fevers, chills and fever and all the sickness incident to a 
low latitude and hot climate are entirely unknown. As bron- 
chial and pulmonary diseases never visit such localities, these 
regions may safely be pronounced even healthier than most of 
our Northern and Eastern States. 

It is safe to assume that two-thirds of Guatemala, Honduras 
and Costa Eica, and at least one-half of l^Ticaragua and San 
Salvador, are situated at an altitude of from 2500 to 7000 feet 
above the sea. The climate of these localities varies from semi- 
temperate to fairly cold ; thus it is just to assert that by far 
the greater portion of Central America possesses an excep- 
tionally bracing and healthy climate. 



CHAPTER Yl. 

Political Divisions of Nicaragua — Their Area, Principal Products, Cities, 
Towns and Villages — Population of the Departments — Their Pacific 
and Coast Ports — The Commercial City of Granada — Managua, the. 
Capital City — It, is Surrounded by Coffee Plantations — City of Leon — 
The Great Cathedral -- Indian Town of Subtiaba — Its Ancient 
Church— Mineral Wealth of Segovia — Uncivilized Eegiou. 

The Eepublic of l^icaragua is divided, politically, into seven 
departments, which are as follows : 

Area in Miles. Population 

Granada 2,500 65,000 

Leon 2,500 45,000 

Eivas ». 1,000 25,000 

Cliinandega 1,500 " 25,000 

Chontales 3,000 35,000 

Matagalpa 2,500 31,000 

Segovia 3,000 32,000 

Uncivilized Eegion .24,000 40,000 



40,000 298,000 

DEPARTMENT OF GRANADA. 

This is the most important department of the republic, both 
on account of its commerce, its population and the proportion 
of its cultivated lands in ratio to its area. It is situated in 
the civilized portion of the republic and possesses coasts on 
both lakes, as well as on the Pacific. It is in direct commu- 
nication, by fair wagon roads, with the departments of Leon, 
Matagalpa, Rivas and Chontales, without takiug into consid- 
eration the route via the lake and the river San Juan to 
Graytown, which latter port is in monthly communication 
with New Orleans per steam«^r Lucy P. Miller. 

The portion of this department that borders oq the Pacific 
lies between the bay of San Martin and the mouth of the river 
Escalante. This coast is iorty miles long, and the water that 
washes its beach is bold and without reefs or any other impedi- 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAaUA. 237 

ments to navigation. It possesses little ports at the mouths of 
the rivers San Diego, Sitalapa, San Rafael, Masachapa, San 
Pablo,Oalero, Achiote 8nclEscalante. These watercourses are 
inconstant and during the summer are generally dry. They 
water an exceedingly fertile territory which unfortunately has 
been neglected since the date of the conquest. 

The lake coast presents notable characteristics. In front of 
the mouth of the Ochomogo river lies the great island of Za- 
patera. Between the latter and the coast is situated the fine 
port of Oharco Muerto. This excellent harbor is almost un- 
frequented, although it is spacious enough to admit a large 
squadron. It carries from seven to eight fathoms of water. 
The island of Zapatera is separated from the coast, on the south, 
by a narrow channel called the Boquete. To the north and 
south are numerous islets, all inhabited save one called La 
Oeiba. 

A short distance from the harbor of Oharoco Muerto is a 
group of small islands, the majority of which are remarkably 
fertile. The length of this portion of the department on 
the borders of the lake is about forty miles. 

The stretch of coast along the margin of lake Managua is 
fifty miles, or twenty-five miles each side of the ancient fall of 
Tipitapa. The expression " ancient fall " is here used because 
the waters of the river or strait of Tipitapa no longer fall into 
the lower bed, but filter through under the rocks. 

The general 'aspect presented by this department is that of 
a vast tableland whose slopes decline 'gradually toward the 
lakes, but are broken and abrupt in the direction of the Pa- 
cific. A central mountain range divides it in nearly two equal 
portions The scarcity of water in the region of former vol- 
canic disturbances, naturally causes one to wonder why this 
locality was chosen by its primitive inhabitants, in preference 
to other contiguous places more adaptable for farming. The 
hillsides alone are cultivated and almost invariably return ex- 
cellent crops. 

The department of Granada has no navigable rivers. Those 
on the Pacific are intermittaut, while on the lake side the 
Ochomogo is the only one that merits mention. Between the 



238 RBPUELIO OF NICARAGUA. 

city of G-ranada aud the strait or creek of Panaloya, are two 
marshy lagoons named Tisma and Jenicero. They are formed 
by the surplus waters of the Tipitapa before it enters the lake. 

The climate of the central tableland is hot but is tempered 
by the northeast winds. On the higher lands it is quite cool. 
Jinotepe, one of the most important centres o± population is 
situated at an altitude of 2513 feet above the sea. 

The department contains twenty-two cities and towns of 
consideration. The four principal are : 

Granada, with a population of 12,000. 

Managua, with a population of 10,000. 

Masaya, with a population of 14,000. 

Jiuotipe, with a population of 5,000. 

G-ranada, the second city in size and importance in the re- 
public, is situated at the northwest extremity of Lake Mc- 
aragua, near the foot of the volcano of Mombacho, at an alti- 
tude of 218 feet above the sea. It was founded in the year 
1523 by the gallant, but unfortunate, Francisco de Cordoba, be- 
tween the lake and the Indian city of Salteba, which now forms 
one of its suburbs. 

During the epoch that the filibusters flourished and later 
still when the country became the prey of factious during the 
interminable civil wars that followed the era of independence. 
Granada suffered more than any other Latin American city, 
not excepting Panama. It was totally destroyed by the Eng- 
lish pirate Edward David, in 1665, and was attacked and par- 
tially ruined by the English buccaneer Gallardillo in 1670, Both 
jiirate chieftains entered the country by tlie river San Juan. 
It was also burned by a large body of pirates who disembarked 
at the Pacific port of Bscalante. It was after occupied 
and partially destroyed by different political factions during 
the long period of anarchy subsequent to the declaration ol' 
independence, and at length was almost ruined by Walker, the 
American filibuster, ISTovember 22, 1856. 

The city contains a population of 12,000 souls, mixed castes 
aud Creoles. It has almost arisen from its ruins, yet several 
blocks remain covered with ashes over which grows a vigorous 
vegetation. The principal church has never been rebuilt. It 

/ 



, REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 239 

contains numerous fine public and private edifices and in con- 
sequence of the advantages oft'ered by the topography of the 
neighborhood might be readily and effectually fortified. Its 
commerce with foreign countries and the other departments is 
quite important and valuable. 

Managua, the capital of the republic, is 220 feet above the 
level of 'the sea. It is situated on the margin Of the lake of the 
same name on the site of a great aboriginal city that was totally 
destroyed during the war of the conquest. Although it now 
contains 10,000 inhabitants, it was a mere village when it was 
chosen — on account of its situation about midway between 
Leon and Granada -as the seat of government. This measure 
was adopted with the hope that the sanguinary rivalry which 
existed between the great cities would cease, when the inhab- 
tants of neither could claim precedence. 

The situation o( the capital is picturesque in the extreme. 
Behind it rises a range of foothills whose soil is admirably 
adapted to the cultivation of cofi'ee. In fact this region boasts 
more than 200 coffee plantations with an annual yield of 
1,500,000 pounds of the precious berry. The coffee industry 
bids fair to assume great inportance, particularly when immi- 
gration flows into the district and a permanent supply of labor 
can be obtained. 

Managua can boast of but few imposing public or private' 
edifices. The government palace is probably the largest and 
best appointed building in the city, while the parish church 
presents the finest appearance of the several places of worship. 
The capital is the head, or centre, of the sub-prefecture of the 
same name. This political arrangement renders it in a measure 
independent of the departmental government. The centres 
of population on the banks of the river San Juan, although 
they are virtually dependent on the department of Granada, 
are independent as far as their elections are concerned, which 
they hold in conjunction with the perfection of Acoyapa. 

DEPARTMENT OF LEON. 

This department is bounded on the north by those of Mata- 
galpa and Segovia, on the east by Chinandega, on the south 
by the Pacific ocean and' the west by the department of Gra- 
nada. It is watered by several rivers which empty into Lake 



240 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

Managua, or the Pacific. The coast extends from Boca 'Falsa 
to San Martin bay. The most notable points, are First, the 
month of the river Leon, at which is situated a small port, 
where considerable salt is deposited by the sea; the river Ta- 
marindo, with its well conditioned port, and Cape Desolate, 
which might be considered a promontory. It contains eight 
cities, towns and villages of importance. The four principal 
are : 

Leon, with a population of 28,000. 

Subtiaba, with a population of 7,000. 

El Sauce, with a population of. . 2,000. 

Telica, with a population of . . . 2,000. 

The portion of the lake coast that belongs to this department 
has an extension of about thirty miles. At Imbita, or Moabita, 
one found the ruins of the old city of Leon, close to which is a 
fine port on the south side of the volcauo Momotombo, but whose 
entrance is partially closed by the volcanic island Motombito. 
Further around to the east is the semi-circular bay Maboto, 
in whose bosom two important rivers, the Encuentros and the 
Eio Grande empty. These watercourses are navigable for quite 
a distance from their nj^uth. 

The topography of this department is less mountainous and 
broken than its sister political divisions, yet in its centre rises 
' the tall sierra of Marrabios. Its climate is rather hot, yet to 
the north the slopes of the Cordillera enjoy a fresh and brac- 
ing atmosphere. 

The city of Leon is the seat of departmental government. 
It contains 28,000 inhabitants, of mixed race, and is situated 
in the centre of a vast plain which is well watered and exten- 
sively cultivated. The first city of this name was founded on 
the banks of Lake Managua, in 1523, by Cordoba. In 1610, the 
inhabitants frightened at the threatening aspect presented 
by the volcano Momotombo, deserted the town and founded a 
new city close to the ancient Indian capital, Subtiaba. As the 
new city increased in size it gradually approached the Indian 
town, from which it is now separated only by the width of a 
street. These two centres of population have separate muni- 
cipal government. 



REPUBLIC OP NICARAGUA. 241 

Leon was the ancient capital of ISTicaragua and the residence 
of the Spanish authorities. Although it has passed through 
many vicissitudes it has never been entirely destroyed like 
Granada. It is therefore the monumental city of the Republic. 
Its streets are well paved and lighted. The principal public 
edifice is the great cathedral which was commenced in 1746, by 
Bishop Martin B. Figueroa; was finished by Bishop Carlos 
Cabrera in 1774, and was dedicated by Bishop Esteban de 
Tristan. It is said that the plan of the building was furnished 
by a British traveler and that its construction cost $5,000,000. 
This edifice occupies an entire square, but its height is too low 
to correspond with such a vast base. In former years it pos- 
sessed many valuable ornaments, but having been pillaged 
several times during the civil wars it now boasts but few ar- 
ticles of value. In the sacristy is a collection of portraits, said 
to be genuine, of all bishops who have filled the See of I^ica- 
ragua. From the summits of the towers a glorious panorama 
is presented to the view. The Bishop's palace, the National 
palace, the barracks and the old convents of La Merced, La 
Eecoleccion, San Francisco and the Hospital of Saint John of 
God, are the few other buildings worthy of mention. 

The Indian town, or suburb, of Subtiaba boasts one of the 
finest sacred edifices in Nicaragua, which is also the most an- 
cient in the republic. It possesses many valuable and curious 
ornaments. At the epoch of the conquest this Indian capital 
contained more than 100,000 inhabitants, who were engaged in 
commerce and agriculture, and were celebrated for their in- 
dustry as well as pacific inclinations. Both Leon and Sub- 
tiaba are noted for numerous springs of excellent drinking 
water in different localities. 

DEPARTMENT OP RIVAS. I 

This department is bounded on the north by that of Gra- 
nada, on the south by the Republic of Costa Rica, on the west 
by the Pacific ocean as far as the bay of Salinas, on the east 
by lake Nicaragua. The sea coast of the department extends 
from Salinas bay to the mouth of the Bscalante river and has 
the following ports : Caseras bay, the port of Brito, the mouth 



242 REPUBLIC OF NICAEAaUA. 

of the Rio Grande de Tola, the port of ]S"ascascola, San Juan 
del Sur and Oape Natau, 

The lake coast is broken by the mouths of many little unim- 
portant rivers which rise in the volcanic regions of Costa Eica. 
The other princii>al localities are Tortugas- point, the mouth 
and port of the river Sapoa, those of the rivers Santa Clara, 
La Lajas and the Gil Gonzalez, the port of La Virgin and the 
two points or Capes Del Palmar and EI Menco. The large 
island of Ometepe also belongs to this department. 

The Department of Rivas is situated between the Pacific 
ocean and lake Nicaragua and forms a narrow isthmus re- 
markably fertile, and watered by numerous little streams and 
rivers. It is therefore, in ratio to its size and the number of 
its inhabitants, the most progressive locality of the republic, as 
far as agriculture, the amount of its exports and its industries 
are concerned — and even for the development of its sjstem of 
public instruction. The different routes marked out for the 
Nicaragua canal pass through its territory. Thus its future 
will be remarkably brilliant should this grand enterprise ever 
be carried out. 

The climate is damp, but the evening and morning breezes 
are so fresh that the region may be considered fairly healthy. 
The population is mostly collected around the city of Rivas, 
the capital of the department. It contains ten considerable 
towns and villages. The four principal are: 

Rivas, with a population of 10,000 

San Jorge, with a population of 3,000 

Potosi, with a population of . . 2,500 

El Obrage, with a population of 3,000 

The city of Rivas possesses an altitude of 177 feet above the 
level of the sea and contains 10,000 inhabitants, of mixed 
blood, [t was founded on the site of the ancient Indian city 
of Nicarao, and was called Nicaragua until the beginning of 
the present century, when the name was changed to Rivas. 

It contains no edifices worthy of mention. This city has 
been several times partially destroyed by earthquakes, and 
was nearly ruined during the war of the filibusters. It is 



REPUBLIC or NICARAGUA. 243 

noted as the place where Walker sustained a siege of five long 
months during the year 1856. 

The lake port of Rivas, San Jorge, contains about 2500 in- 
habitants. The principal port on the Pacific is San Juan del 
Sur, which carries ou quite a large import and export traffic, 
but does not contain more than 400 inhabitants. 

The principal locality of note in this department is the island 
of Ometepe, which is washed by the calm swells of the Great 
lake. From the summit of its tall volcano may be witnessed 
one of the most beautiful panoramas presented to human 
sight in any region ol the World. The ascent is quite easy, 
as it is gradual and very little broken. This island contains 
many antiquities, the most of which are found in tombs many 
centuries old. 

An idea of the importance of this little department may be 
gleaned from the fact that besides its numerous stock raising 
establishments and coffee plantations, it possesses more than 
a million and a half cacao (chocolate) trees, and 175 indigo 
vats, which produced, in 1880, 275,000 pounds of this costly 
article. 

DEPARTMENT OF CHINANDEGA. 

This district is bounded on the north by the department 
of Segovia, on the east by that of Leon, on the south by the 
Pacific ocean, from Cape Ooseguina to Boca Falsa, and on the 
west by Honduras. 

The department is most admirably situated. In its centre 
extends that vast plain which is watered by the Estero Real 
and its afflaen.ts. In the south are numerous little rivers 
which water that portion which lies between the Pacific and 
the foot hill range of Marrabios ; and in the north rise the 
slopes of the temperate lands from which flow the Black river 
and its branches. The southern district is admirably adapted 
for all kinds of agriculture, and the northern portion for stock 
raising purposes and mining enterprises. The various pro- 
ducts of the soil, the forests and the mines may be readily 
exported from the numerous little ports, on the Pacific coast, 
belonging to the department. 



244 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

Ohinandega has seven considerable cities and towns, the 
principal of which are : 

Ohinandega, with a population of .9,000 

El Viejo, with a population of .4,500 

Ohichigalpa, with a population of 3,500 

Eealejo, with a population of 1,500 

Ohinandega, the capital of the department, is built on the 
site of an ancient Indian city. It contains a mixed population 
of 9,000 souls and has an altitude of 121 feet above the level 
of the Pacific. In times past it was quite an important bus- 
iness locality, but the gradual filling up of the port of Realejo, 
upon which it depended, and the opening of that of Corinto, 
which is connected with Leon by a fine wagon road, caused its 
traffic to revert to the latter city. The completion of the rail - 
road from Leon Viejo to Corinto, which passes close to Ohinan- 
dega, has in a measure revived commerce and it is now quite 
a flourishing business centre. 

It possesses no fine edifices, but its houses are generally 
situated in the midst of cultivated plots of ground, which 
gives the town the appearance of a vast orchard. Its neigh- 
borhood is quite picturesque, while it is surrounded by numer- 
ous plantations of sugar cane and cotton. 

The port of Realejo was founded by Alvarado, in 1534. It 
was sacked and burnt several times by the buccaneers, and 
also by the filibusters under Walker, it once boasted 15,000 
inhabitants, but now contains but one tenth that number. 

Corinto is an admirable little port. Since the completion 
of the railroad it has become the principal sea port of the 
republic. It has two deep entrances. Ships of the greatest 
tonnage may anchor close to the beach, 

DEPARTMENT OF OHONTALES. 

This department is bounded on the north by that of Mata- 
galpa, on the east by the Caribbean sea, on the south by the 
river San Juan, and on the west by G-ranada. , 

The civilized region of this department presents the aspect 
of a series of almost circular valleys, separated by the western 
spurs of the Cordillera, excepting the northern portion, which 
might be considered a knot of irregular mountains. The cH- 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 245 

mate is temperate on the plains but cold on the higher lands. 
The principal products are cattle and gold. 

It contains nine towns and villages, the four principal of 
which are : 

Acoyapa, with a population of 7,500 

Juigalpa, with a population of 3,500 

La Libertad, with a population of 3,200 

Boaco, with a population of 5,000 

The capital, Acoyapa, is a mere collection of adobe houses 
and Indian huts, and is connected with the lake by a bad 
bridle road, which terminates at the port of San Ubaldo. 

The soil is remarkably fertile, while the climate of the table 
lands is bracing and healthy. There is no finer spot on the 
planet for the establishment of a colony of American emi- 
grants, were it only connected with the Caribbean coast by a 
good wagon road. 

. DEPARTMENT OF MATAGALPA. 

This region is bounded on the north by the Coco river, on 
the east by the Atlantic and the uncivilized portion of the re- 
public, on the south by the Departments of Granada and 
Choutales, and on the west by those of Leon and Segovia. 

The country is broken by irregular mountain spurs that 
hold in their embrace numerous fertile valleys, which are 
watered by many i)erennial water-courses and streams. The 
climate is not only temperate, but is absolutely cold in the 
higher table lands. Fine wheat crops are produced, together 
with all the vegetation of the temperate zone. 

It contains twelve towns andvillages. The four principal 
are: 

Matagalpa, with a population of 10,000 

Jinotega, with a population of. 7,000 

Metapa 4,500 

Sebaco, with a population of 2,500 

The principal industry is stock raising ; yet several valu- 
able mines are worked on a small scale. 

Matagalpa, the capital, is situated 2000 feet above the Car- 
ibbean sea and is surrounded by high mountains, that shut 
out the horizon on all sides. It has been several times de- 
stroyed by the Zambo and Mosquito Indians. 



246 REPUBLIO OP NICARAGUA. 

DEPARTMENT OF SEGOVIA. 

Is bounded on the north and west by Honduras, on the east 
by the Uncivilized Region, and u)n the south by the Depart- 
ments of Chinandega and Leon. 

Many of the rivers that empty into the Coco have their 
sources in this department, but none of them are navigable — 
not even the Coco, until its junction Mith the Jicaro. The 
principal industry is cattle raising, although a small quantity 
of coffee and indigo is produced. It contains seventeen towns 
and villages, the principal of which are : 

Ocotal, with a population of 12,000 

Coudega, with a population of 3,000 

Somoto, with a population of 1,500 

Bsteii, with a population of 3,000 

Ocotal, or Segovia, is situated in a picturesque locality on 
the banks of the river Telpaneca. It was founded in 1524 by 
Cordoba, and has been many times destroyed since that date 
by the pirates and Mosquito Indians, who ascended the Coco 
river in small boats. It contains no fine buildings, but boasts 
a population, together with its suburbs, of 12,000 souls. 

The climate of this department is cool and remarkably 
healthy. Its soil is very fertile and is watered by many con- 
stant rivers and water-courses. It contains some of the richest 
silver and gold mines in the World, but they were mostly 
abandoned during the struggle for independence. 

THE UNCIVILIZED REGION. 

This district is divided into two parts ; the Mosquito reser- 
vation and that portion of the republic inhabited by native 
tribes. The latter are harmless, inoffensive and remarkably 
friendly. The author lived with the Smoos for two months, 
in 1874, and was treated in the kindest and most hospitable 
manner. They readily yield their lands to English or Ameri- 
cans. When their country is settled by immigrants it will be 
one of the most flourishing districts of the republic. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Form of Government — The Constitution — Seatricted Suffrage — Presidents 
Quadra, Zavala, and Cardenas — The Patriotism and Wise Adminis- 
tration of Cardenas — Payment of the Public Debt — Solvency of the 
Eepublic — Wise Financial Measure — Railroad System — Industries — 
Coffee Planting — Agricultural Products — Stock Raising— Demand for 
Beeves — Wood Cutting Industry — Rubber Traffic — The Inter-Oceanic 
Canal — Prospects for Immigrants. 

Tiie system of government administered in Nicaragua may 
be designated as moderate republican. If the actual adminis- 
tration of public affairs is undoubtedly conducted in as demo- 
(iratic a manner as is practiced in any of the other republics, the 
constitution is by no means as liberal as those which have, 
coni])aratively latelj^, been piomulgated in Honduras and Gua- 
temala. 

The Constitution, which was modeled upon that of the. 
United States, is supposed, by the framers, to avoid certain 
dangerous or equivocal declarations which they deemed to think 
darkened the pages of the immortal work of our forefathers. 
With exception of the slavery clause — the cause for which has 
since been abolished in this country — it would be difficult to 
find a single passage, in which the Coi.ititution of the little 
republic expresses more enlightened or li^ eral sentiments than 
may be found in its great model. 

• Yet, the Constitution of Mcaragua is an admirable docu- 
ment and is well worthy of being carefully studied and ex- 
amined. If it is more conservative than that of Guatemala, 
or of Honduras, it is certainly more practical. Under the 
two latter, liberty, fraternity and equality are carried almost 
to t!ie verge of socialism, while the Charter of Mcaragua, 
like that of Salvador, stops short at quaiilied suffrage. 

The government of the republic is separated into three dis- 
tinct branches; the Executive, the Legislative and the Judi- 
cial. The first is exercised by a citizen w^ho must be in entire 
possession of all the rights and attributes of citizenship. He 



248 EEPUBLIG OF NICARAaUA. 

must be a married mau and at least thirty years old. Under 
the title of President, he is the chief magistrate and holds 
office for the term of four years. The legislative power is 
vested in a Congress whose members are elected by the popu- 
lar vote. The judicial functions are vested in magistrates, 
whose office is also elective. 

The present chief magistrate is Dr. Adan Cardenas. This 
gentleman is a profound scholar and speaks several modern 
languages fluently. He, for several years, represented his 
government at Washington, and is, therefore, well known and 
highly appreciated in this country. He has occupied numer- 
ous public positions, and is one of the shrewdest and most 
consummate diplomats in Central America. Dr. Cardenas 
belongs to the conservative party, yet his so-called conserva- 
tism might rather be termed rational liberalism, for he is as 
liberal in his principles as any other Central American Presi- 
dent. If he is not constantly descanting on the sublimity and 
beauty of equality or fraternity, his public acts prove that he 
entertains wise and enlightened sentiments, while he certainly 
has shown himself a sincere promoter of the material interests 
of his country. 

With his vast experience in public affairs, his enlightened 
ideas and his profound patriotism, Dr. Cardenas is essentially 
the right man in the right place; it is safe to assume that if 
the rest of his term of office is marked by as many wise public 
acts, as the period he has already exercised his official func- 
tions has been, his name will occupy a bright j)lace in the future 
history of his country. 

The late civil wars and revolutions which so devastated Nica- 
ragua left among other burdens a large debt for posterity to 
discharge. That indebtedness has been fully paid, while the 
citizens of the republic justly boast, that theirs is the only 
Latin American nation that owes neither a foreign nor a do- 
mestic debt. The Gaceta Ojicial, in its issue of December 12, 
1884, published the following article, which is reproduced in 
full: 

" For eight years government certificates, called state notes, 
have been in circulation. They are of the first an<l second 



REPUBLIC OF NIOABAGMTA. 249 

order, with privileged six per ceut bituda, all required to be 
paid in flues uud cnstoin duties. 

The cancellation of orders for custom duties proved a com- 
plicated and confused business, because a moiety had to be 
paid in money, and a certain percentage in these certificates. 
The merchant was compelled to procure this paper to enable 
him to pay his custom duties, or else to obtain security that he 
would pay the value of the certificates. The press cried out 
against these different classes of certificates which circulated in 
commercial transportation, which caused confusion therein and 
also in the accounts of the national treasury. Many of these 
certificates were issued without proper care or formality,,J;hus 
giving scope for forged utterances of the same, with grave in- 
jury to the interests of the state as well as of individuals. 

For these reasons President Vincente Quadra proposed to 
Congress in 1871, the consolidation of all these certificates into 
one debt. This proposition was rejected, doubtless because 
the necessity of such a measure was not clearly realized then, 
or because, as often happens with all innovations, an opposite 
financial result was feared to that held in view. 

But the course of time proved the correctness of President 
Quadra's views and the desired conversion took place March 
24, 1867. The new certificate was circulated under the name 
of the " consolidated bonds," which bore five per cent interest 
from the first of December of the same year. This law decreed 
that custom duties should be paid, in the hundred, at sixty-five 
cents cash, and the rest in old certificates, or in fifty cents cash, 
and fifty cents in consolidated bonds. As may be seen this 
last arrangment resulted in obliging all to indirectly adopt the 
converted paper as the law dictated. 

At first the new paper was greatly depreciated and sold at 
thirty- five per cent ; but the regularity with which the interest 
was paid, and the bonds gradually canceled inspired confidence. 
The increase of importations raised year by year the value of 
these bonds until they reached par and eventually a very high 
premium. This result proved to the world the value of gov- 
ernment promises. But at length it became a serious question 
with merchants who had to buy these bonds at a high premium, 

17 



250 EEPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

for they could not compete in the sale of their g'oods with those 
who had tought them uj) at a cheap rate some time before. To 
remedy this evil, Congress, September last, passed a law, au- 
thorizing the payment of these bonds, with accrued interest, 
in ready money, granting government the power to raiee a loan, 
if necessary, on those conditions it deemed the most favorable. 
But the government could not realize the required loan as the 
terms offered were too severe. As the amount of the consoli- 
dated loan became gradually less, the government no longer 
needed a loan, and, on the first of the present month. Congress 
passed a law withdrawing the bonds and authorizing their 
payi|^nt, with interest up to date, in ready cash. Thus the 
interior debt is cancelled and Nicaragua has neither foreign 
nor native creditors nor owes a single dollar to anyone. 

The history of this interior debt is very interesting. The 
total value of the consolidated bonds was $1,751,732 50. Taking 
this sum with the amounts paid iu the former certificates, we 
find that the total interior debt, acknowledged and paid, 
amounts to the large sum of $3,503,465 60. 
■ This plain statement clearly indicates the present financial 
situation iuISTicaragua; add to this, that commerce is flourish- 
ing, railroads are being constructed, new plantations are es- 
tablished, and mining and stock raising being pushed, it will 
be seen that Nicaragua, if not as rich as San Salvador for 
instance, is in an equally prosperous condition. 

In the foregoing six chapters the author has endeavored to 
furnish a brief account of tbe past history of the republic, as 
well as a description of the topography of the country. Men- 
tion has been made of the several departments, their natural 
resources, their rivers, plains, mountain slo[)es, mines and 
above all, the climate and the nature and productiveness of 
the soil. As the plan of this work will not permit any de- 
tailed account of these various interesting subjects, the author 
deems that enough has been said to draw the attention of the 
American public to a country but little known to or under- 
stood by them and to ])rove that the Eepublic of Mcaragua, 
with its liberal laws, its cordial invitation to immigrants, its 
fertile soil and rich mines, is one of the best localities where 



REPUBLIC OF NICAKAGUA. 251 

parties possessing little capital, but plenty of energy and 
enterprise, , may not only find a fortune in agriculture but a 
happy home and the climate best suited to their health or 
habits. 

Nicaragua can boast of but few manufactures, while those 
are of a simple and primitive order. The numerous mountain 
torrents that descend to the plains afford thousands of oppor- 
tunities for the establishment of factories and quartz mills, 
when the time comes to utilize this vast hydraulic motor 
power. 

The railroad construction system adopted by the republic, 
and which is being pushed gradually forward, is as unique in 
its conception as it is practical in its methods. Government 
has undertaken the construction of the proposed roads. It 
owns and runs the line already built, whose earnings last year 
not only paid all expenses, but an interest of six per cent 
clear on every dollar thus far expended on the work. This 
line is about seventy miles long. Its Pacific terminus is the 
pretty little port of Oorinto. It passes through one of the 
most productive agricultural regions on the planet ; skirts 
the two great cities of Cbinandega and Leon, and strikes lake 
Managua at a point near Leon Yiejo. The city of Managua, 
which is distant, by land, from Leon Viejo, about forty-two 
miles, will soon be connected with it by rail, as the proposed 
line, to skirt the lake to the -capital city, is now in course of 
construction and will be finished in two years. From Mana- 
gua to Granada, which is thirty miles, the road will be Duilt 
in 1887. But meanwhile the government intends, as before 
mentioned, to restore the port of Graytown, or San Juan del 
Norte, to its former favorable condition, and also to render 
the San Juan navigable for vessels drawing eight feet of water, 
from Graytown to the Great lake. All this work is expected 
to be accomplished by the end of 1887. Thus, in three years, 
the people of the republic confidently expect to he able to 
cross from ocean to ocean, by rail and water transportation, 
in a comparatively brief period of time. 

The principal industries of Nicaragua are foreign and domes- 
tic commerce, precious Avood cutting, agriculture, stock raising 



252 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

and miniu^. The total foreign traffic for the year 1S83, ex- 
cludiug the traffic of tlie Mosquito reservation, was: imports 
$1,600,000 ; exports 12,200,000. The domestic commerce may 
be estimated at $25,000,000 per annum. 

Coffee planting has become a staple industry, while labor 
on the coasts is both scarce and costly ; in the interior and 
particularly in the distant departments it rules reasonably 
low as yet. Within the past five years not only have numer- 
ous new plantations been established, but on the old ones the 
area of cultivation has been greatly increased. Although the 
coast, on either side, is lined with fine cocoanut groves, but 
little attempt has been made to increase the acreage of this 
valuable product. 

The fruit planting industry has been totally neglected. If 
on the Pacific coast the fruit producing centres are too distant 
from San Francisco to enable a traffic in hananas and plan- 
tains to become profitable, the Caribbean coast is but five days' 
distant from ISTew Orleans, and the fine lands on the Coco, the 
San Juan and the Matagalpa rivers, might be utilized to great 
advantage in this industry. The banks of the Mico, or Blue- 
fields, river, in the Mosquito reservation, are now crowded 
with flourishing banana plantations. The fruit produced in 
this latter locality is the best that finds its way into our mar- 
kets, so there is no reason why the other river banks which 
possess equal advantages, should not produce as fine fruit. 

Tobacco, indigo, vanilla and numerous other tropic articles 
of commerce are produced in the tierra caliente, while wheat, 
rye, oats, barley and many kinds of vegetables and fruits grow 
to perfection on the temperate table lauds. Indian corn and 
broom corn flourish in all localities at less than 10,000 feet 
above the sea. 

Stock raising has, within the past five years, excited con- 
siderable attention. The sui)i)ly of the Guatemala, West In 
dian and Isthmian markets has created a demand for beef 
cattle along the entire coast. In the northern departments, 
near the Honduranean line, the number of cattle has been 
greatly increased. There is sufficient land in IsTorthern Nica- 
ragua and Southern Honduras, at present entirely unoccupied, 



REPUBLIC OP NICARAGUA. 253 

to furnish 5,000,000 beef cattle annually, without withdrawing 
from agriculture the most fertile lands. Yet Texas undoubt- 
edly contains more cattle than the Central American republics 
combined. 

On the Texas and I'Torthern Mexican cattle ranges the aver- 
age pasture allotted each beef is three acres. In Honduras 
and N"icaragua it is no exaggeration to assert that the pastur- 
age found on the mountain and foothill sides, and the banks 
of the numerous streams and water-courses which irrigate the 
countr}^, is so varied and so plentiful that one acre will not 
only maintain, but will fatten, one beef for market. 

The peculiar topographical formation of numerous portions 
of Central America renders them particularly adapted to 
cattle raising. It is true the American people do not either 
know, or seem to care to know, this fact 5 but the time will 
come (indeed the time is not far distant) when the meat sup- 
ply problem will attract the serious attention of our states- 
men. The Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, 
l!^uevo Leon and Co^ihuila have already been drained to meet 
the demands of our market. The central and southern states 
of Mexico have large and constantly augmenting populations 
to feed, and cannot be relied upon even to make good the an- 
nual drafts drawn upon our domestic supply. Thus, Central 
America and Colombia and Venezuela will soon be called upon 
to till the demands of the beef markets of these United States, 
of the West Indies and Europe. 

ISTotwithstanding that many of our patriotic statisticians may 
deny this statement, it is nevertheless true. Already our At- 
lantic ports are engaged in shipping vast quantities of refrig- 
erated beef to Europe, while Florida and Texas annually send 
great numbers of beef cattle to the West Indies in general, 
but Cuba in particular. These latter demands of cattle upon 
our x)roduction of beef cattle are already being felt, nor will it 
be long before the advanced price of the article in our home 
markets will seriously eifect this new traffic. 

Meanwhile the governments of the beautiful and fertile 
inter-tropical Republics of ISTicaragua and Honduras invite 
American stock raisers to come and occupy their waste lands. 



254 REPUBLIC OF NICABA.aXJA. 

They desire them to bring blooded stock to improve the breed 
of the domestic cattle. The same opportunities are offered 
sheep farmers, and millions of acres of land admirably adapt- 
ed to the raising and feeding of sheep and goats can be easily 
and readily obtained. 

Since the Walker troubles the wood-cutting industry on the 
Caribbean coast has dwindled to comparative insignificance. 
Years ago the banks of the Wanks, the Matagalpa, the Mico 
and the San Juan rivers were crowded with mahogany and 
cedar cutters' camp, and a great amount of timber was shipped 
from the different ports of the coast. To day but few mahogany 
camps are in operation, for the rubber industry has drawn 
away the greater part of the disposable labor. 

On the Pacific slope a vast annual quantity of dye woods 
are shipped at Corinto. Fustic is the principal object of com- 
merce, while Campeche and Brazil — for there is a difference 
between the two— come next. On the Estero Eeal and other 
watercourses and rivers some mahogany and cedar is occa- 
sionally cut, but not enough to make much impression on Eu- 
ropean markets. 

In the very near future the wood-cutting industry on the 
Caribbean coast will again revive. The available mahogany 
and cedar trees in Honduras and British Honduras are being 
thinned out, and the magnificent forests of Nicaragua will be 
called upon to yield their tribute until the younger trees of 
the two other localities shall have grown sufficiently to cut. 

The Department of Segovia contains some mines whose 
names were once famous. They are mostly abandoned or are 
worked in the most primitive manner. The author visited 
several of them last May and was presented with numerous 
remarkably rich specimens There is one lode whose ore 
averages $540 per ton of gold, while a silver lead was pointed 
out to him whose average working yield was $266 per ton. 
Neither of these mines are being operated — at least not in form 
— as the owners only work them at stated periods, merely to 
comply with the law and retain their possession. 

It may read like a fable to assert that there are in the De- 
partment of Segovia at least sixty mines equal to any that 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 255 

have yet been worked in IN'evada, California, Colorado or IS^ew 
Mexico. Yet such is undoubtedly the case, while the names 
of fifty-four can be cited whose ore averages more than $150 
to the ton, worMng assay. 

Should the curious reader ask why these, to him, fabulously 
rich mines are not worked, numerous reasons might be ad- 
vanced, anyone of which woukl answer his question. The 
hitherto unsettled and revolutionary condition of society, the 
natural apathy and indolence of the Creoles ; the former inse- 
curity of life and property 5 the lack of capital to inaugurate 
enter]3rises ; the bad condition of the roads and the great cost 
of transporting mining machinery over the tall and rugged 
mountains are a few of the causes that might be cited to show 
why these mines have not lately been operated. To-day Nica- 
raguan society is no longer revolutionary^ but is inclined to 
peace and pacific pursuits. The people are arousing from their 
long lethargic slumber and have begun to manifest a deep in- 
terest in the material progress of their fertile and rich country. 
The lack of capital will soon be supplied from foreign money 
markets. Foreign arms will assist native muscle to cut good 
roads from the mines to the central railroad system, while to- 
day, both life and property are as safe (if not actually safer) in 
Central America, as in any of our southwestern territories. 
These are not merely assertions 'they are stubborn facts and 
are borne out by irrefragible testimony. 

While American miners are satisfied with the possession of 
property that will turn out $25 to, the ton, and are making 
large investments, in their utter ignorance of tlie mineral re- 
sources of Honduras, and the Mcaraguan department of Se- 
govia, they refuse to believe in the disinterested statements of 
travelers. Let those who doubt, but yet have money to' invest 
in mining enterprises, go to the department of Olaucho, Toro 
and Tegucigalpa in Honduras, and Segovia in Nicaragua, and 
their own eyes will speedily convince them of the vast mineral 
resources of those localities. 

For tv^o decades the greater number of the people of Eastern 
Nicaragua, including the inhabitants of the Mosquito Eeser- 
vation, have bended their entire energies to gathering- rubber. 



256 REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 

It would be impossible to estimate the quantity of this valuable 
article, supplied by the forests contiguous to the Caribbean 
coast within the past twenty years. It must have aggregated 
to several millions of pounds annually. But lately the price 
of rubber, in consequence of the many substances that are em- 
ployed in adulterating the pure gum, has seriously declined. 
. The cost of gathering it is almost as great as the price it obtains 
on the spot. If this situation continues much longer the rub- 
ber gatherers will be compelled to seek other employments. 
In this case the wood cutting industry will be revived and* 
fruit planting on a large scale inaugurated. 

The Caribbean ports of IsTicaragua are virtually free ports ; 
at Gracias and G-raytown ten per cent duties are collected on 
imports, at Bhietields and Corn Island, Mosquito Reservation, 
but three per cent on imports are levied. This anomalous con- 
dition obtains by consequence of the treaty of 1860, with Great 
Britain, which deiined the extent of the Mosquito Eeservation 
and the tariff duties to be collected at the Caribbean ports of 
the Eepublic. 

On the Pacific coast the government tariff of customs pre- 
vails. As the greater portion of the import and export traffic 
of the republic is carried on in that locality, the federal treasury 
suffers but little, while the inhabitants ot the Eastern coast are 
greatly benefited by the arrangement. 

So much has been said and written concerning the proposed 
Nicaraguan inter oceanic canal that it is almost needless to 
mention it here. The Americo-Mcaraguan treaty lately dis- 
cussed by the American Senate, and which treated of the 
eventual construction of said canal, failed ratification by that 
body. Whether some other foreign nation or individuals may 
undertake the great enterprise or not is more than can now be 
conjectured. But one thing is certain: sooner or later the 
canal will be constructed, and then future American states- 
men will severely censure the timid or conservative policy that 
permitted the control of the great artificial strait to pass be- 
yond the pale of American influence. 

Sufficient information regarding Mcaragua has been fur- 
nished in the preceding pages to give the reader a faint idea 



REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 257 

of the vast agricultural possibilities and the forest and min- 
eral resources the little republic possesses. It has been shown 
that the lands are marvelously fertile and at least one-half of 
the country enjoys a climate as healthy and agreeable as that 
of any other portion of the planet. If j^icaragua, three de- 
cades ago, was the prey of revolutionary factions and life and 
property were insecure, two decades of peace which have been 
employed in pushing the material advancement of the country 
has brought about a new condition of affairs. Life and prop- 
erty are respected in Mcaragua as much as they are in the 
Orescent City, while money invested in agricultural, mineral 
or wood-cutting enterprises returns an almost fabulous profit 
as compared with general investments in this country. It is 
safe to assume, then, that those who wish to better their for- 
tunes, who have a small amount of capital to invest, could 
find no safer or more promising locality than Nicaragua, the 
scene of the exploits ^f the chivalrous Gil and Cordoba — the 
native land of Cardenas and Zavala. 



COSTA RICA. 



CHAPTER I. 

Priestly Theories Eegarding tlie American Indigines — Dr. Plongeon's Dis- 
coverieb in Yucatan — America the Older World — The Yucatecan Story 
of Adam and Eve, and the Death, of Abel— The Lost Atlantis— Ruins 
of Ancient Cities in Costa Rica — First Spanish Expedition— Journeys 
of Gil, Cordoba and Pedrarias — Combats with the Indians— Pizarro's 
Campaig-n — Invasion of the Territory of Urraca — Gallant Defense 
Made by Him— Battle With Pedrarias — Subsequent Death and Defeat 
of Urraca — Subjugation of the Province. 

IS'otwithstaiiding thatmany learned theologiausliave, during 
the past three centuries, published ponderous tomes to prove 
that the continent was originally" populated by colonies from 
both Asia and Europe, their adversaries have successfully 
refuted their arguments and assert that America is the older 
World and was most probably peopled long before any portion 
of the Eastern Hemisphere. 

The researches of Dr. Aguste Plongeon, who, accompanied 
by his accomplished and scientific wife, spent several years in 
examining the ruined cities of Yucatan, have resulted in bring- 
ing to light many historical facts that had long been buried 
in the mists of ages. He found inscribed on the columns, 
obelisks, mural ornaments, and temple walls of the ancient 
city of Uxmal, the story of Adam and Eve, with a detailed 
account of the killing of Chaakmol (Abel) by his worthless 
brother Ake, while Cay (Cain), the high priest, in vain en- 
deavored to save him. Engravings of Abel's wife (and sister) 
Moo, and his mother, father, sisters and brothers, weeping 
over his ensanguined corpse, are sculptured on the facades of 
several ruined temples, while deep in the interior of a huge 
mound were found his (Chaakmol's) statue, the urn which 



260 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

once contained his heart, together with some primitive orna- 
ments and the knife (made of light colored flint) that killed 
him. 

If the orthodox reader may doubt the truth of Dr. Plongeon's 
revelations, the facts of the case are to-day accepted by nu- 
merous scientists and antiquarians. Egypt was the scene 
of the early childhood, the school days (if such term may be 
used) and the manhood and prime of the Hebrew law-giver, 
Moses. It is a well known fact that this great reformer and 
natural leader of men, was skilled in all the learning but, par- 
ticularly, m the theology of the Egyptians. Dr. Plongeon 
believes he can prove that this latter people received the light 
of civilization probably 150 centuries ago, from Yucatan. In 
this case the subjects of Chemi were taught the story of the 
creation of the world, of Adam arid Eve, of Abel (Chaakmol), 
Oay (Caiu), and Ake, by the learned priests of the great 
Maya temples of Uxmal. 

During his visit to TJxmal, the scientific explorer made a 
Still more remarkable discovery. He deciphered hieroglyphi- 
cal inscriptions, he found engraved on the temple walls of the 
ruined capital, which furnish an account of the submergence 
of the lost continent, Atlantis. Thus the narrative of Hero- 
dotus, the father of history, is in every essential correct, and 
thousands of feet below the troubled surface of the stormy 
Atlantic lies a vast territory that once was the scene of human 
greatness and of an elevated civilization, far superior to that 
which confronted the truthful ancient traveler in Egypt, 2300 
years ago. 

If we may believe the assertions of Central American news- 
papers, the truth of Dr. Plongeon's statements regarding the 
lost continent, has recently been attested by a fortunate dis- 
covery, of which the Caribbean coast of Mcaragna was the 
scene. In excavating a deep hole some workmen came upon 
a large rock, forty feet below the surface. This huge stone is 
covered with hieroglyphics and engravings, which give a 
brief account of the sudden submergence of the vast territory 
which once was sitaated in the wide space that is now covered 
by a great portion of the Atlantic ocean. This event, accord- 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 261 

ing to Egyptian records, took place some 7000 or 8000 years 
before the Christian era. The hieroglyphical accounts of the 
history and snbsfqueut assassination of Chaakmol (Abel) 
speak of Atlantis several times. Later inscriptions also men- 
tion it, thus it is safe to assume that the statue of Ghaakmol 
is at least 12,000 or 13,000 years old. 

Dr. Plongeon discovered many other curious facts, among 
them the last words of Christ, "Eli Eli lama sebachthani 
are pure Maya and literally mean, It in finished and darJcness 
comes over my face. '^'^ This is almost the precise meaning of the 
phrase, given by one of the Evangelists. Again, the scientist 
says that the names of many of the letters of the G-reek alphabet, 
are Mayn, while the appelations of numerous objects and also 
various Egyptian phrases are ur.donbtedly of genuine Maya 
origin. 

Accordingly the learned Doctor believes that Yucatan was 
the cradle of human civilization and from that once densely 
populated land emanated the knowledge, the sciences and arts 
which rendered ancient Egypt so famous, while the religion of 
the land of Ohemi, and the mysteries, practiced by the white 
robed priests of Thebes, were first preached to the world in 
the spacious temple of the Sun, at Uxmal, 

Of course theologians have pronounced the Doctor's asser- 
tions as utterly false and denounced him as a madman. As 
the gentleman in question is undoubtedly sincere, as he is in- 
clined to persist in his opiiiious, had he lived in the good old 
days of the Inquisition, when burning, branding and other 
ingenious methods of torturo, were emi)loyed against all who 
presumed to utter a word against the dogmas, tne teachings 
and the pre(;epts of the Church, he would beyond doubt long 
ere this have been handed over to the mercies of that saintly 
institution. But he fortunately lives in an era of enlightenment 
and investigation, thus his life at least is safe, even if the 
priesthood of all sects deride his opinions As far as his being 
a madman is concerned, the learned Boucher de Perthe was 
for a period of fitteen years considered a poor, harmless lunatic 
by the Galic Church, and even by those learned parties the 
members of the French Institute, because he asserted that the 



262 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

flint knives, arrows and lance beads, he discovered imbedded in 
the clay at Abbeville were the workmanship of pre-historic men. 

Sufficient facts have been elicited to prove that Southern 
Mexico, (Yucatan in particular) Guatemala, British Honduras, 
Spanish Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Isthmus of 
Panama, were once the cradles of a high order of civilization. 
But nothing more is known of the dynasties and kingdoms 
which flourished at that remote age than is told by the hiero- 
glyphical inscriptions, and the carved engravings found on the 
columns, monuments, and temple walls of the ruined cities of 
Central America. 

Certain localities of Costa Rica are strewn with ruins of 
undoubtedly great antiquity. Positive ])roofs exist that cen- 
turies upon centuries anterior to the Spanish conquest — cer- 
tainly before the first Egyptian pyramid was built — the whole 
extent of the territory now known as Costa Rica was inhab- 
ited by a race of men who were much more highly civilized 
than the inhabitants of Nicaragua, who welcomed the mail- 
clad Spanish warriors of Gil Gonzales to their hearts and their 
homes. Several ancient tombs found in remote localities, 
"whose crumbling sides were overgrown with tropic bowers, 
lately gave up the secrets contained in their hidden interiors 
for oeous of ages. Pottery of singular shape but of skilled 
workmanship, stone hatchets, axes, and cooking implements, 
and penates made of gold, were found resting side by side with 
huge stones covered with inscriptions and hieroglyi)hics of a 
nature and form t^ir different from the pictures and carved 
signs that cover the temple walls of [Jxmal and Chichen-Itza. 
Until some future savant shall decipher these mysterious in- 
scriptions nothing can be known of the history of those who 
carved them, but the belief is gradually gaining ground that 
the mystery that shrouds these monuments will yet be dis- 
pelled and that many authentic pages will be added to the 
past history of this continent. ' 

In that portion of this work relating to Guatemala, three- 
chapters of the ancient history of the aborigines are given. 
The reader has seen that authentic records furnish the history 
of several flourishing aboriginal kingdoms that were governed 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RIGA. 263 

by dynasties of mouarchs for centuries anterior to the con- 
quest. They teach us that Votan, 400 years before the Chris- 
tian era, founded the ^reat empire of the Votanides, whose 
capital city was Palenque. The rains of this ancient metrop- 
olis cover many square miles of area, while in its apogee it 
must have contained at least 2,000,000 inhabitants. 

The Votanides were eventually driven to send out colonies, 
which penetrated to the south and founded kingdoms in Gua- 
temala, Honduras, and probably in Nicaragua also. The tra- 
ditions relative to these occurrences, as well as the Cakchiquel 
and Popal Vuh manuscripts, distinctly aver that wherever 
this conquering peoi>le emigrated they always found people 
more or less civilized. 

At the period of the Spanish conquest neither I^icaragua 
nor Costa Rica was the seat of a powerful aboriginal king- 
dom, like the monarchies of the Montezumas, the Quiches and 
the Cakchiquels, or the empire of the Incas of distant Peru. 
While their people were highly civilized, were noted astrono- 
mers, agriculturalists and goldsmiths, and lived in large and 
populous centres of population, they were more democratic 
and were ruled by caciques. With some of the nations the 
office of cacique was elective. The people chose their rulers 
and in certaiu cases deposed them at will. With other nations 
the cacique was the hereditary head of the government, and 
in some isolated cases possessed absolute power. 

If the indigines of Costa Rica, shortly anterior to the con- 
quest, were more divided than those of Guatemala and Yuca- 
tan, if no powerful monarch had uuitod them into a great 
kingdom by conquest or jjersuasion, the system of division 
and government cannot fairly be set down as merely tribal. 
If one hundred caciques drew out their forces, and in a stub- 
born battle contested against the valiant Spanish captain, 
Pedrarias, there were but four principal caciques present on 
that occasion ; the others were merely subordinate chieftains 
or head men of villages and towns. 

Costa Rica was discovered by Colon, during his last voyage 
to the 'Sew World, in the year 1504. Several years passed 
before other navigators followed in his traces, and it was not 



264 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

until the year 1513, that the famous bat unfortunate Yasco 
Nunez de Balboa, from the summit of a tail mountain peak, 
saw the lon^ rolling billows of the Pacific ocean. 

The news of the discovery of a vast sea to the westward of 
the Isthmus of Darien, infused a new spirit of enterprise in 
the hearts of the intrepid Spanish adventurers, who languished 
at the little settlement of Darien, on the Caribbean coast of 
the isthmus. They longed for an opportunity to push their 
discoveries still further to the north and south, along the 
coasts washed by both oceans. 

About this time a celebrated Spanish caballero, named Pedro 
Pedrarias Davila, was appointed Governor of the Spanish 
settlements of Darien, and Captain General of the vast south 
sea. He arrived at Darien about the year 1514, accompanied 
by numerous Spanish gentlemen who, having wasted their 
fortunes in ari unfortunate Italian expedition, were only too 
anxious to seek a fresh field of enterprise in the ^ew World, 

The gallant Kunez de Balboa married his daughter, but the 
ferocious chieftain, jeilous of the fame acquired by his new 
I'elative, accused him of high treason against the crown, and 
the hero was beheaded in the presence of his relentless enemy. 

But, as is mentioned in that portion of this work relative 
to Nicaragua, if Pedrarias was cold-blooded, avaricious and 
ferocious, he was one of the most skillful captains and intrepid 
soldiers formed during the wars of the Spanish conquest of 
tropic America. As a general he ranked second only to Cortes 
on the list of heroes who won so many kingdoms, provinces 
and countries for Spain. As an audacious and successful 
soldier, he may be considered as peer with either Cortes or 
Pizarro, and during the eighteen years that he commanded 
on the isthmus, he added a vast area of territory and millions 
of people to the proud colonial empire of Charles V. 

In the year 1516 he sent a fleet towards the northwest, which 
coasted along the shores of that territory now known as Costa 
Eica and Nicaragua. The expedition was commanded by two 
Captains, named Hernan Ponce and Bartolome Hurtado. On 
the beach of a little bay in Costa Rica, they saw drawn up in 
battle array a long line of natives, but, declining the combat, 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 265 

the Spaniards held on. their way to the north and west. The 
people who so readily assembled to defend their native coasts, 
were known as the Ohiuchires, a brave and gallant nation of 
indigenes, which afterwards gave the Spaniards infinite trouble 
and annoyance before they were definitely subdued. 

The Spanish chieftains at length reached a port that bore 
the name of Chira, which they called San Lucar, but which 
was afterwards known as Mcoj^a. As gallant and patriotic 
as their neighbors, the Ohiuchires, the aboriginies of Ohira 
assembled in their canoes and fearlessly attacked the large 
vessels of the explorers. They filled the air with the sounds 
of martial music, and made menacing signs at the strangers. 
When they had approached near enough to use them with 
effect, they bent their long bows and discharged a cloud of 
arrows at their foes. The Spaniards answered with their light 
cannon. Several of the canoes were sunk and many natives 
slain by the first broadside. Terrified by the noise of the 
cannon and at the deadly eifect produced by their discharge, 
the natives lost heart and without waiting to pick up the 
crews of the destroyed canoes, who were struggling in the 
water, turned and fled towards the shores. 

The Spanish vessels moved nearer to the beach and fired at 
the Indian troops who, drawn up in columns of battle, had 
witnessed the signal defeat of their fleet. A few broadsides 
served to disperse them and they fled into the interior. 

The Spanish captains not liking the looks of the coast any 
more than the hostile aspect of the natives, and at the same 
time anxious to i;j|pturn to the isthmus, turned in their tracks 
and soon reached Panama. Although Pedrarias was greatly 
dissatisfied with the meagre results obtained by the expedition, 
he afterward claimed jurisdiction over the coast skirted by 
these two adventures and eventually obtained the governorship 
of both Costa Rica and Mcaragua. 

This chieftain was admirably seconded by several gallant 
Spanish captains whose names already were, or afterwards 
became, famous. Among these were Ponce, Hurdado, Cordoba, 
Soto, Ojeda, Olid, Rojas, Pizarro, and the Licenciate Gaspar 
de Espinosa,. who it seems was more devoted to a military life 



266 REPUELTC OF COSTA KICA. 

than to his professional labors. This latter caballero, diiriug 
one of his excursions penetrated as far as Orotiuo, or some two 
hundred leagues to the northwest. 

In 1520 Espinosa conducted an expedition of two small ships, 
in search of a group of islands, called by the natives, Oebaco, 
whichwassituatedabontseveuty leagues northwest of Panama. 
Meanwhile, the future conqueror of Peru, Francisco Pizarro, 
advanced in the same direction by land. All that is known of 
Pizarro's campaign is that he fought many combats, and suc- 
ceeded in finally subjugating the natives. 

The Islanders, (inhabitants of the Oebaco group), although 
very numerous, were utterly disheartened by the successes ob- 
tained by Pizarro on the main land, and warned by the terrible 
treatment experienced by the brave Chinch ires at the hands 
of the conquerors hastened to enter into peaceful relations 
with Espinosa. During his stay at the Islands the Spanish 
captain was unwearied in his search for gold. One of the 
native caciques informed him, that the mountains, gulches and 
rivulets of the contiguous main land contained numerous de- 
l»osits of the precious metal, and that the locality, in question, 
w^as dominated by a powerful cacique named Urraca, and was 
called Burica. 

But Urraca was a gallant chieftain who, ever since the ex- 
pedition of Ponce and Hurdado, had been preparing means of 
resistance when, as he foresaw, he should be visited by the 
hated strangers. He sent all the women, old men, and chil- 
dren to the fastnesses of the neighboring mountains, and when 
his spies informed him of the approach of ^le Spaniards he 
marched forth to meet them. 

The vanguard of the Spanish forces, composed of friendly 
Indians, was totally destroyed before the white men could come 
to their rescue. Then Urraca hurled his forces on the little 
Spanish army. The powerful bows of the natives discharged 
long, sharp arrows, which wounded the horses and in many cases 
penetrated the steel a.rmor of the invaders. The Spaniards, 
almost disheartened, were slowly retreating toward their ships 
when they were unexpectedly reinforced by Hernando de Soto, 
who had shortly before been sent by Pizarro on an excursion 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA KICA. 267 

towards the coast. This timely assistance reanimated the in- 
vaders and they again advanced and slowly ibrced the Indians 
backwards until they came to a locality so broken by rocky 
chasms, and wide arroyos, that the cavalry conld no longer 
manenver. The natives rallied and fought desperately. While 
a portion of them defended the new position tliey had taken, 
other bodies attacked the flanks and rear of the Spanish forces 
and reduced them to the greatest extremity. At length Espinosa 
was compelled to retreat. During the ensuing night he en- 
deavored to reach his ships, but the Indian cacique was on the 
alert and again hurled his columns upon the 'tired fugitives. 
The latter fought with the courage of despair, and at length 
succeeded in breaking through the enemies lines and reached 
their ships. 

Esi)inosa landed at different points along the coast and 
fought several more actions with the natives. He captured 
many of the latter whom he carried to Panama and sold as 
slaves. Before he departed from the neighborhood, however, 
he left at Burica, a small detachment of Spaniards under the 
command of a captain named Oompanon, 

When Urraca was informed that all the Spaniards had left 
his coast save a small detachment, he at once determined to 
destroy it. He collected his forces and laid siege to the for- 
tified post occupied by Compaiion. The latter defended him- 
self for several days but would have eventually fallen into the 
hands of his implacable enemy, had not reinforcements, under 
the command of Hernan Ponce, arrived in time to succor him. 
Urrica, without^attempting to dispute the disembarkation of 
the new comers, retired in good order to his mountain fastnesses. 

Pedrarias deeming the occasion worthy his own efforts deter- 
mined to go in person and destroy the indomitable Indian 
cacique. He set out from Panama at the head of 140 Spaniards 
and numerous auxiliaries. Francisco Pizarro commanded his 
advance guard and the artillery. 

Urraca meanwhile had made arrangements to meet this new 

and more formidable foe. He entered into an alliance with a 

neighboring cacique named Exquegua. The combined Amer- 

•icau forces occupied a most advantageous situation, and the 



268 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

relentless Urraca was appoiuted commandei^-iu-chief. When 
Pedrarias discovered the Indian position he halted and ex- 
amined it carefully before attacking. For awhile he hesitated, 
but upon reflection determined to make the attack, for he well 
knew that were he to retreat without striking a bh)w, after 
coming so far in search of his enemy, he might lose prestige 
with his own followers and would certainly incur the contempt 
of the aborigines. 

The battle lasted nearly from sunrise to sunset. The Span- 
iards lost many meu and horses and Pedrarias was compelled 
to exert his greatest skill to avoid a serious disaster, At length 
an opportunity was afforded to use his artillery. The balls 
made huge gaps in the ranks of the assailants who eventually 
retired about night fall. During the three ensuing days 
Urraca attacked the Spanish camp vari\i)us times but was in- 
variablj'' repulsed. He at length retreated into the mountains 
where he selected and fortified an admirable position and de- 
fled Pedrarias' efforts to dislodge him. The Spaniard subdued 
the neighboring country, divided its inhabitants among his 
men as slaves, founded the town of Nata, and leaving his lieu- 
tenant Diego de Albitez in command returned to Panama. 

Shortly afterwards Francisco Oampanon was again placed 
in command of the dispirited district. Despairing of being 
able to subdue the persistent Urraca by force he resorted to 
strategem. He invited the chief to a confereucf». The latter 
relying ujion the captain's "safe conduct" proceeded to Il^ata, 
where he was immediately imprisoned by the treacherous 
Spaniard. He managed to escape after a few jnonths confine- 
ment and fled to his people who welcomed him with tlie wildest 
demonstrations of joy. He again raised a large army and 
marched to Nata. Against his usual policy he met the Span- 
iards in the open field. The battle was sanguinary and was 
most stubbornly contested. Many of the invaders were killed 
and wounded, while the wide plain was literally covered with 
the bodies of slain Indians. European arms and valor event- 
ually prevailed. The natives at length sullenly retired to their 
mountain fastnessess leaving the Spaniards master of the 
open country. 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 269 

For a period of nine years tlie courageous Urraca waged a 
relentless war against the invaders, until the majority of his 
people, worn out by so many efforts, abandoned their cacique 
and submitted to the conquerors. Urraca, accompanied by a 
few faithful followers, iied to the confines of Nicaragua, but 
the Spaniards who respected his valor and constancy made no 
attempt to follow him. A few months afterwards he died heart- 
broken and was, in accordance with his earnest instructions, 
buried in a mountain cave, far beyond the reach of his impla- 
cable enemies. 

After the death of this heroic leader the Spaniards quickly 
consolidated their conquests. The Indian warriors who had 
deserted their gallant chieftain were compelled to labor as por- 
ters, delve deep in the mountain sides in search of precious 
metals, and with the sweat of their brows to moisten the soil 
they had formerly possessed themselves. Before the death of 
Pedrarias, which occurred in 1531, Costa Rica was completely 
pacified, and the province was he.d in the tenacious grasp of 
Spain until the descendants of the conquerors and of the Indian 
followers of Urraca, broke the gtilling chains that fettered them, 
and won their independence in 1821. 



CHAPTEHi II. 

Form of Government — Provinces and Principal Cities— Population — 
, Civilized Aborigiuies — The Pacitic Coast^Brave Men and Beautiful 
Women — Seaport of Punta Arenas — It is Freqxiented by many 
Steamers and Ships — Provinces of Guanacaste, Liberia, Alajueia, 
Heredia, San Jos€, Cartago and the District of Limon — Populousuess 
of the Country Anterior to the Conquest — The Capital City — Fair 
Residents — The Natural Products of the Soil — The Atlantic Coast — A 
Vast Wilderness — Savage Indians — Mountains and Rivers. 

Oosta Eioa, is the most southern republic of Central America, 
and, until recently, was, with the exception of Salvador, the 
most prosperous. It is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, 
on the east by the Caribbean sea, on the south by the Pacific 
ocean and the isthmus of Panama, and on the west by the 
Pacific ocean. It contains an area of 21,500 square miles or 
13,700,000 square acres of territory and about 230,000 inhabi- 
tants, mostly of Spanish descent. 

The form of government is repubLcan. The Executive power 
is vested in a President who holds office for a term of four 
years. Two vice presidents are elected at the same time the 
President is chosen. The senior of these two officials assume 
the functions of the Executive office during the disability, or 
absence of the President. Tne deputies to the national con- 
gress are also chosen for four years and bold annual sessions. 

The present Constitution was promulgated in the year 1871, 
but since that date has been several times slightly modified. 
Its provisions are extremely liberal. 

The republic is divi^Ied into seven provinces, and one dis- 
trict, or territory, namely : 

Popuhvtion. Capital. Population. 

San Jos6, province 60,000 San Jos6 25,000 

Cartago, province .45,000 Cartago 15,000 

Heredia, province 40,000 Heredia 12,000 

Alajueia, province 35,000 Alajueia 8,000 

Guanacaste, province 12,000 Santa Cruz 2,000 

Liberia, province 6,000 Liberia 2,500 

Punta Arenas, province. ... 8,000 Punta Arenas 2,000 

Limon, district 4,500 Limon ' 2,000 

210,500 68,500 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 271 

Besides the number of inhabitants shown by the above table, 
the northeastern portion of the republic contains an uncivilized 
aboriginal population amounting to at least 14,000. The num- 
ber of civilized Indians, of pure aboriginal descent, may be com- 
puted at somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000. Thus the 
entire population of the republic may safely be estimated to be 
a-] least 230,000. 

While the western slope of Costa Eica is comparatively 
thickly settled, the Atlantic, or Caribbean side, is as yet a vast 
and untenanted wilderness. There are large tracts of territory 
where the foot of white man has seldom trodden, while certain 
almost inaccessible regions were avoided by the hardy followers 
of Cordoba and Gil Gonzales, of Pedrarias and Eojas during the 
war of the conquest. The inhabitants of these terras incognita 
steadilj met tiie Spanish conquerors on the borders of their 
rivers, streams and lagoons, man to man, and almost invariably 
came off victors in the combats that ensued. They often en- 
ticed their enemies into the depth of their mountain, and forest 
fastnesses, and slaughtered them iii detail. 

PUNTA ARENAS. 

This province is situated on the western slope and is bat 
thinly inhabited. The coast is washed by the long rolling bil- 
lows of the great Pacific, and is marked by two mountainous 
peninsulars which reach far out into the ocean and enclose the 
two pretty little bays or gulfs, called respectively, el Golfo de 
Mcoya, and el Golfo Dulce. 

For a short distance from the coast the land is low and sandy, 
and during the rainy season is converted into a vast marsh. 
The forest growth is insignificant, from the beach, eastward 
into the interior, up to the banks of the turbulent and incon- 
stant E,io las Barrancas. There the scene changes as if by 
magic. The acasia, and the date, cocoa and caboon palms, 
give place to the tall spreading ceiba, the frondose mahogany, 
and the gigantic cedar, while the mountain slopes, and the 
foothill sides are covered with a dense growth of dyewood, live 
oak, laurel, zapote, amarillo, and vera trees, whose thick foliage 
shelters a thousand different kinds of creeping plants, beau 
tifuUy tinted flowers and aromatic shrubs. 



272 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

This tropic paradise is inhabited by a hardy, brave, fine- 
looking and contented race of ladiuos, who, as far as personal 
appearance is concerned, certainly rank peer with any of the 
jmixed races of the continent. In Honduras, Guatemala and 
iSan Salvador, the ladinos, who are the dominant class, retain 
much of the diirk complexion, and many of the characteristics 
of the former aboriginal occupants of the country, from whom 
they are descended. In I^Ticaragua, particularly, on either 
coast slope, the people are an essentially miscegenated race. 
The white, black and red branches of the human family, having 
each contributed their quota of blood. If the members of this 
race retain few of the striking characteristics of either of the 
three castes from which they sprang, they still possess the pride 
and courage of the whites, the patience, indolence and te- 
nacity of the Indians, and the stalwart proj)ortions, and crisp 
hair of the negroes. But their comi^lexiou is neither white, 
red, nor black. It might better be described as a bright, but 
not disagreeable yellow, while the skin is softer and smoother 
than that of the eastern or mongolian people. 

On the western coast of Gosta Rica, while there are many 
specimens of the same class of yellow people, that is met with 
on either coast of Eicarsigua, the majority of the inhabitants 
have a soft, light nut-brown or brunet complexion like the 
rosados of Mexico and the peninsula of Yucatan. In this in- 
stance the white blood seems to have j)redominated over the 
other streams with which it has mixed, and the people are 
almost white. Tradition also hath it, that the aboriginal in- 
habitants, the followers of the tenacious king Urraca, possessed 
much lighter complexions than the people to the north and 
south of them. Be this as it may ; the fact that the inhabi- 
tants of the western and central portions of Gosta E,ica are of 
much lighter complexions than their northern and southern 
Latin American neighbors, is both well known and generally 
acknowledged. 

The males are tall, well formed, and are also active and in- 
telligent. They make excellent soldiers, being particularly 
famous for their courage, constancy and patriotism. They 
proudly assert that one Gosta Kican soldier is equal, in com- 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 273 

bat to five men from auy other portiou of Central America. 
They are opposed to the union of their little republic with its 
four northern neighbors. 

The women of this caste are, as a general case, remarkably 
handsome, fascinating and engaging. They are almost white, 
while their hands and feet are small and faultlessly shaped. 
Their hair, which it is their delight and pride to dress and 
adorn, is of a rich brown color, and when unconflned hangs far 
down the back and almost sweeps the ground. Even the 
married women, although their forms have never been com- 
pressed by the corset, retain, to a great degree, their fine figures 
to an extreme old age. They are very clannish and almost in- 
variably marry with members of their own caste. Their features 
are regular, the face oval, mouth small and filled with white 
well shaped teeth, while their eyes are large, deep brown or 
black and are full of expression. This race of people, although 
in social position they occupy the same grade as their ladino 
neighbors, of the same caste, to the north and south of them, 
occupies the entire territory, from the Eio de las Barrancas on 
the west, to Carillo on the east, and north and south as far as 
the civilized limits extend. 

While a few of the male inhabitants of the province of Punta 
Arenas, dedicate a small portion of their time to agriculture, 
the majority of them frequent the port, (of the same name) 
where they gain a pecarious livelihood by discharging the ships 
that frequent the bay, by fishing, by engaging io the coast 
trade, or by selling shells and curiosities to the passengers, of 
the steamers that at regular intervals touch at the port. 

The few agriculturalists raise small crops of corn, beans and 
some vegetables. Indian corn, made into an indigestable kind 
of bread, which is known as the tortilla, throughout the entire 
extent of Latin America, is the staple lood of the masses, while 
the numerous spontaneously produced fruits of the tropics 
supplement this humble fare. N"ot withstanding the forests 
teem with deer and other kinds of game, and the branches of 
the trees that adorn the primeval forests shelter a hundred 
different kinds of game birds, meat food is but seldom seen on 
the boards of the poorer class of people. 



274 • REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

The little seaport of Puuta Arenas is situated on a narrow 
neck of land that is washed by the waters of the Pacific. It 
contains but few pretentious buildings ; the majority of the 
houses being built of wood. They are necessarily well ven- 
tilated, for during- the dry season the weather is unusally hot 
and sultry, while sand flies and musquitos are a perfect scourge 
at night. The town contains, about 2,000 inhabitants and is 
the capital of the province. 

The principal traffic centred at this port until the Caribbean 
coast railroad was constructed as far as Sucio or Carillo. Since 
that date no small portion of the import trade passes over the 
latter route. As the coffee plantations are mostly on the Pacific 
slope the greater bulk of the harvest is shipped from Punta 
Arenas, on the Pacific Mail coast steamers, which connect the 
port with Panama on the south, and Central American, Mex- 
ican, and American ports to the north. 

Besides the Pacific Mail steamers which touch at regular 
intervals at this port, sail vessels, freighted with English dry- 
goods and other merchandise, also frequent the place. These 
ships generally return to Europe, via Cape Horn, "laden with 
cargoes of precious woods, hides, sarsaparilla, rubber and even 
coffee. Punta Arenas is the principal seaport of the republic, 
and will continue so to be until the eastern railroad is completed 
to San Jose, the capital of the re]>ublic. 

GUANACASTE AND LIBERIA. 

These two districts, until lately formed but one, which was 
known as the province, or department of Gnanacaste. This 
territory is noted for its salubrious climate, rich mines aud 
admirable pasture lands. The greater portion of theproviuce 
is still claimed by ]!^icaraguM, which republic refuses to satisfy 
the boundry treaty that gave GuanHcaste and Nicoya to Costa 
Eica. The topography of the district is broken by numerous 
spurs, of the central mountain range which divides the 
rei)ub1ic into almost two equal portions. Hiddeu away among 
the tall mountains are numerous beautiful little valleys, whose 
fertile soil, well irrigated by the streams that issue from the 
hillsides, can produce all the varied flora of the tropics. The 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 275 

foothill slopes, which are utilized by the hardy Indians for 
their milpas^ or corn patches, return remarkably bounteous 
harvests, while the little tablelands that, here and there, break 
the mountain ranges, produce fine crops of wheat, rye, oats and 
other cereals of the temperate zone. 

Anterior to the conquest Guauacaste and Liberia contained 
within their limits a dense aboriginal population, while in cer- 
tain localities are found the ruins of cities that rival in anti- 
quity the remains of the temples and palaces of Milta and 
Papantla, of Copan and Qairigua. When Cordoba and Gil 
Gonzales first penetrated into these regions they were wel- 
comed by a hardy race of people who, with awe, pointed out 
these ruins and told them that many cycles of ages ago, when 
their fathers first occupied the country, the same ruins, the 
same relics of past grandeur, met their wondering eyes. But 
little did the Indian hosts of the conquerors think, that in the 
nineteenth century, a race of men differing in religion, in lan- 
guage in characteristics from their guests would wander over 
their once thickly populated country and wonder what had be- 
come of their race. For the aborigines of Guanacaste, of Liberia, 
of Nicoya and the land of Nicarao, have almost passed away, 
and but a miserable remnant of the 600,000 red people who 
sheltered Gil and Cordoba, numbering not more than two or 
three thousand souls, roam listlessly over the broad savanas, or 
hunt amid the tropic jungle whose soil, four hundred years ago 
was cultivated by their industrious and contented ancestors. 
For the records of the early conquerers teem with comments 
regarding the prosperous condition of the aborigines anterior 
to the conquest. The red men of Costa Eica have passed away. 
The race that succeeded them is also slowly dying out, and in 
another century will be entirely extinct, unless its mixture 
with a newer and hardier stock, the infusion of a fresher and 
a healthier blood shall bring about the creation of a new race 
which, imbued with liberal sentiments, and energetic and in- 
dustrous habits, shall restore Costa Rica to a prosperous and 
happy condition similar to that presented anterior to the 
Spanish conquest. 

It is immigration and a fusion of the races only that can 
accomplish ihis great end. The people of Costa Eica, of all 



276 REPUBLIC^ OF COSTA RICA. 

Latin America, approach the nearer in form, characteristics 
and complexion to the Europeans. The children born of mar- 
riages between the intrusive arid the native races, are fine 
specimens of humanity, for the males are stalwart, vigorous 
and brave, and the females are beautiful, high-minded and pure. 
The ladino inhabitants ot Guanacaste possess the same phy- 
sical characteristics of their bretheni of San Jose and Cartago. 
While some few engage in mining pursuits, and the cultivation 
of the soil, the majority are'stock raisers and are noted horse- 
men and partisians. The capital of the department is a little 
town called Liberia, which contains but 2500 inhabitants. 

ALAJUELA. 

This province is situated in the central portion of the republic 
and is limited by Heredia on the east and Punta Arenas on 
the west. While portions of the country are rugged and broken, 
no small part of its territory is level land, admirably adapted 
to cultivation. The fertile soil produces all the varied fruits 
of the tropics, while the higher lands are being laid out into 
coffee plantations. During the Spanish regime this district 
was famous for its production of indigo, sugar and cochineal. 
While the two former are still produced, the latter no longer 
excites tiie interest it formerly did. The discovery of numerous 
substitutes for the dye f int extracted from the cochineal insect, 
has so reduced its price in European markets, that nopal plan- 
tations are no longer cultivated, nor are the insects that thrive 
on the remaining plants always harvested. 

The production of indigo, which once proved such ah imi)or- 
tant industry has been in a measure abandoned, for coffee 
planting has usurped its place. 

Beyond doubt the tropic plains of Alajuela are destined in 
the very near future to supply no insignificant portion of the 
crude sugar demand of the markets of the world. The soil is 
admirably adapted to the cultivation of the precious cane, 
which attains the highest degree of development, and returns 
from 4000 to 6500 pounds of crude sugar, or melado, to the 
acre. When the railroad that purposes to connect the cities of 
Alaguila and Heredia with the^westeru division of Bsparza 
is finished, the sugar planting industry will assume larger 
proportions and become of greater importance, year by year. 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 277 

The city of Alajuela, which is tlie capital of the province, 
coutains about 8000 inhabitants, the most of whom areLadinos. 
The people are mostly supported by agriculture while a few 
are engaged in the manufacture of hats, pottery, or follow the 
occupation of mule drivers, (carpenters, masons, etc. The city 
boasts but few large or imposing edifices, and but one really 
fine church. Alajuela is the western terminus of the railro^'d 
and is distant twenty-seven miles from San Jose, the ca])ital of 
the republic, and forty-two miles from Cartajo. 

HEREDTA. 

This department, or province, is limited by Alajuela on the 
west and San Jose on the east. Its boundaries to the north 
and south, being ill defined, cannot be stated with correctness. 
It ranks third among the provinces in importance, wealth and 
populousness. The greater portion of its inhabitants are 
clustered around the city of the same naaie, while far to the 
north and south stretch vast regions inhabited only by savage 
Indians, and wild beasts that roam free and unmolested, 
the only denizens of the primeval forests and tangled .tropic 
jungles. 

The capital of the province, Heredia, has 12,000 inhabitants 
and ranks as the third city, in size and importance, in the 
country. It is in daily rail communication with Alajuela on 
the west and San Jose and Cartago on the east. It is the cen- 
tre of a flourishing agricultural regioji whose products are 
principally of a tropical nature. 

SAN JOSE. 

This province is the most important and the densest settled 
of the political divisions into v\^hich the country is divided. 
It is the centre of the traffic of the eastern and western slopes 
while the greater portion of its cultivated lands is divided 
into numerous flourishing coffee plantations. The bulk of its 
import and export traffic is carried on through the Pacific 
port of Punta Arenas. The coffee harvest is principally 
shipped from that point on the steamers of the Pacific Mail 
line. The other products are tropic fruits, sugar and indigo. 

The capital city, San Jose, is situated in the central portion 
of the province, in a beautiful valley surrounded by fertile 



278 REPUBLIC OF COSTA BICA. 

foot hills that are cultivated almost up to their very summits. 
It contains 25,000 inhabitants and is adorned by numerous 
iine churches, public edifices and private residences. As the 
the site of the city is 3880 feet above the level of the sea the 
climate is remarkably healthy, ^o fevers of any kind are 
prevalent, even during the rainy season, while pulmonary 
diseases of any description or nature whatever arc practically 
unknoA^n. 

The native inhabitants of San Jose, as far as physical and 
intellectual qualities are concerned, rank equal to any people 
in the world. Numerous of the males possess ruddy com- 
plexions and lig'ht hair, while a still greater number of their 
fair sisters are positive l.londes. The men are a fine-looking, 
stalwart race, while the women, with their large, dark, lustrous, 
deep blue or black eyes, their long flowing tresses, small but 
perfectly shaped hands and feet, and lithe, graceful, exquisitely 
formed figures are second to none, in personal attraction, to 
any of their foreign sisters. 

The^.apital carries on a flourishing traffic with the neigh- 
boring cities and towns. The wealthy planters who own the 
coffee plantations in the vicinity reside within its limits and 
form a separate social caste, very exclusive and also very proud. 
The streets are well lighted and well paved, and it will not be 
long before the entire municipal limits will be lighted with 
electricity. A line of gtreet cars, that will pass through the 
principal thoroughfares, will soon be in operation. The work- 
shop of the railroad company is well provided with different 
kinds of machinery, while the dejiot is a spacious and commo- 
dious building. The locality is well provided with cabs, while 
all the wealthy residents owji at least one family carriage. 
Three good hotels afford ample accommodations for travelers 
and native guests. 

San Jos6 is connected with the town of Carillo, or Sucio, 
which is the present terminus of the Costa Eican Central Bail- 
road, by a cart road over the mountains, twenty-six mil*^s 
long. During the rainy season this road is almost impassable 
in some places, and both freight and passengers are trans- 
ported on mule-back to the foot of the mountains, but when 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 279 

the dry season comes on it is quickly repaired and becomes 
one of the most frequented thoroughfares in the country. 

CARTAGO. 

This department is inferior to San Jos6 alone in wealth and 
commercial importance. It lies between the province of San 
Jose and the Coraarca — zone or district — of Limon, and is 
noted for its numerous coHee plantations and stock farms. 

The capital city of the same name is connected with San 
Jose by a branch railroad fifteen miles long, while a projected 
line, that will strike the Central route, where the latter crosses 
the river Eeventazon, fifty miles long, will soon connect it 
with the Caribbean seaport. This city contains 15,000 inhabi- 
tants and is the centre of a flourishing agricultural district. 
It draws its foreign su[)plies from the ports on eithei slope, 
but the greater portion of its cofl'ee crop goes to Port Limon 
for shipment. 

COMARCA, OR ZONE, OF LIMON. 

The boundary limits of this vast region have never been 
correctly defined. Some native geographers consideiinthat it 
extends^ along the entire stretch of coast washed by the blue 
waves of the Caribbean sea, and as far back as the town of 
Carillo, or Sucio, seventy-two miles inland. 

With the exception of a narrow strip of land extending along 
either side of the Central Eailroad, from the town of Carillo 
to the coast, the rest of this extensive district is a meie wil- 
derness, inhabited only by wild beasts and still wilder Indians. 
The coast is low and is indented by lagoons, little bays and 
the mouths of numerous rivers, streams and creeks. This re- 
gion is covered with a grand forest growth that has seldom 
been disturbed siuce the era of the conquest. Several nations 
of savage Indians still rove the undisturbed masters of this 
wilderness. The tribes which once held the Spaniards at bay 
in the territory watered by the Eeventazon and Pacuar rivers 
have been exterminated by their ferocious neighbors. 

The Pranzos nation occupies the lands along the banks of 
the Frio river; the Bizeita tribe the territory drained by the 
turbulent Sixaula river; while the warriors of the Terrbis 
tribe still maintain their bold on the vast forests and wild 



280 REPUBLIC) OF COSTA RICA. 

plains that border the Chiriqui country. These savages are 
perfectly independent of the Costa Rican government and 
wage relentless war against each other. They trade with 
coasting vessels from Nicaragua and the isthmus, and barter 
hides, rubber, skins, sarsaparilla and turtle shells for arms, 
powder, tobacco and rum. They are exceedingly licentious 
and intemperate. The men occupy themselves with fishing, 
hunting and fighting. The women cultivate corn, beans and 
pumpkins, and are the submissive slaves and drudges of their 
lords and masters. 

Until within a few months since this entire district was a 
free zone. The customhouse ind revenue officials were sta- 
tioned at Oarillo. Complaints having been made to the gov- 
ernment that a vast amount of smuggling was carried on, or, 
in other words, that goods imported into the district were 
smuggled into San Jose and Cartago, the free zone privilege 
was rescinded and the custom and revenue offices were again 
established at the port. While some mahogany and cedar 
logs ar4j.cut at different points along the coast, the most im- 
portant industry is tropical fruit planting. 

Port Limon is situated at the head of a little bay that car- 
ries deep water up to the very wharf. It contains a few 
wooden buildings mostly owned by foreigners. The greater 
number of the inhabitants are civilized Caribs and Jamaica 
negroes. The white residents are mostly Americans, who are 
either employes of the railroad or are engaged in commerce. 
The principal business firm is Keith & Co., who control the 
greater part of the traffic that passes through the port, while 
the enterprising head of the firm owns numerous fruit and 
sugar plantations along the line of the railroad. 

Port Limon presents all the characteristics of a Jamaican 
village. The streets are crowded with untidy but good-hu- 
mored negro women and lazy, intemperate black men, who 
work only when compelled by actual necessity. The women, 
as a general case, support both their husband and children; 
while the latter are a worthless, frolicsome, good-natured set 
of liitle vagabonds, who are in very early life corrupted by the 
immoral atmosphere that surrounds them. 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 281 

The central portion of the j^epublic is famous for several 
very tall moniitain peaks, or volcanoes, as they are called by 
the natives. Poas attains an elevation of 8895 feet above the 
level of the sea. Barba peak is 8700 feet high ; Irazu 11,300, 
and Turrialba 11,350 feet. The great mountain Dota range, 
which extends from the Pacific almost to the Caribbean ceast, 
is from 7000 to 9000 feet high, while the tall Kemu, or Pico 
Blanco, reaches an altitude of 12,000 feet above the level of 
the Caribbean. 

Costa Eica is watered by numerous perennial, but unnavi- 
gable, rivers. On the Pacific slope the Tempisque and Las 
Piedras rivers flow into the gulf of Mcoya, while the rivers 
Pirris, Guanacaste, El Barranco, Eio Grande, Narango and 
their numerous affluents, drain the fertile lands that lie be- 
tween the ocean and the central mountain range. 

On the Caribbean coast the Eio Frio, San Carlos, Saripique 
and Colorado flow into the great San Juan river, while the 
Eeventazon, Pacuar, Chiripo, Sixaula, Changuenola and Chir- 
iqui empty into the lagoons that break the low coast line. 

19 



CHAPTER 111. 

Kailroad System — The Late President's Anxiety to Complete the Inter- 
oceanic Liue— Death of th.at Statesman—Difficulty attending Construc- 
tion — A Eoute. Surveyed to Cartago — One Hundred and Thirty-two 
Miles of Road Completed — Nascent Manufactures — Learned Profes- 
sions, Authors, Artists and Journalists — Education and the Free 
School System — Mining Ladustry and Valuable Mines— Agriculture — 
Sugar Cane, Lidigo, Indian Corn and Coffee Planting— Coffee the 
Chief Staple Product — Fruit Planting — Wood Culture — The Labor 
Problem — General Prospero Fernandez. 

The railroad system of Oosta Rica would probably have 
beeu further developed had not two uufortaiiate circumstances 
intervened. About three years ago, General G-uadia, one 
of the most interesting characters depicted in the history of 
Central America, suddenly died. - He had ruled Costa Rica 
for an eventful period of ten years. For a time he was abso- 
lutely dictator, but when he had reformed the most glaring 
abnse,s which had, through years of anarchy and confusion, 
crept into government methods, and re-established the affairs 
of the republic upon a firm basis, he returned to the constitu- 
tional regime, and governed the republic for some years as 
Constitutional President. 

His chief ambition was to complete the construction of the 
inter-oceanic railroad, before his death or retireoient from 
office. He was pushing the work rapidly from both extremi- 
ties of the proposed line, when the government engineers in- 
formed him that the proposed route, from Carillo to San Jos6, 
a distance of twenty-six miles over the mountain range that 
separates the j)lateau of San Jose from the low lands on the 
Caribbean, was impracticable. He asked what they meant 
by their report. They answered that to construct the twenty- 
six remaining miles of the road, over the rugged mountain 
chain, would, if it were actually possible, necessitate an out- 
lay of at least $100,000 per mile. The chief engineer supple-. 



REPUBLIC Ol'' COSTA TJICA.. 283 

men ted tliis assertion witli aiioLber, to the effect that a siugle 
locomotive cnah] scarcely monut the steej) incline even if the 
road were built, nnleSwS it was supplied with wings, " Con- 
struct locomotives with wing's then," was the chieftain's 
answer, ISTew surveys of the route were made by other 
engineers, but as no practicable pass could be found the 
President was obliged to give ui) the point, and ordered his 
engineers to search for a ronte around the mountains either 
to the north or south. 

At length, a practicable route was discovered to Cartago, 
from a point on the Port Limon and Carillo line, where it 
crosses the Reventazon river, a distance of fifty miles. Had 
this route been chosen in the first place it would have saved 
the republic the cost of the Port Limon — or Central — line 
from the Keventazon river to Sucio. Or, in other words, 
would have jj roved an economy of twenty -five miles of con 
struction work. 

Genera] Guadia gave orders to grade the road-bed, over the 
new route, and some progress was made, when the sudden 
fall of the price of coffee put an end to further work. With 
the decline in the price of the staple product of the country 
came a corresponding financial crisis, thus the new division 
of the road has not yet been completed. 

In 1871 the government obtained a loan of £1,000,000, in 
London, and work on the present incomplete railroad system 
was begun. In 1872 another loan of £2,40u,000 was obtained. 
This latter debt was contracted for the express purpose of con- 
structing the inter-oceanic railroad. Of this sum £1,200,000 
were actually expended on the enterprise by the end of 1873, 
when work was suddenly suspended. Up to the present date 
nothing further has been done to complete the proposed rail- 
road system as far as actual construction work is concerned. 

Although two large gaps in the inter-oceanic line remain to 
be filled before direct rail communication between the two 
coasts is assured, the little republic boasts the possession of 
more miles of railroad than any of her sister Central American 
nations. The complete railroad divisions are as follows : 



284 BEPUBLIO OF COSTA RIGA. 

Port Limon to Carillo 72 miles. 

Oartago to San Jose 15 '' 

San Jose to Alajuela 27 " 

Esparza to Punta Arenas 18 " 

Total 132 " 

The two large gaps, or breaks, in the purposed route, are : 
From the Reventazou river where it crosses the 

Port Limou and Carillo road to Carillo. ...... 50 miles. 

From Alajnela to Esparza 66 " 

Total..., 116 " 

Thus the entire Interoceanic line, when completed from sea 
to sea, by the only practicable route, that can be found around 
the mountains to Cartago, and from Alajuela to Esparza, which 
divisions also present difficult engineering problems, will be 
248 miles long. 

The financial trouble that followed the fall in tiie price of 
coffee can not De said to have as yet terminated, thus the gov- 
ernment has not been able to procure the necessary funds to 
complete the proposed railroad system. A few mouths ago. 
Minor C. Keith, Esq., of the well known house of Keith & Co., 
of Port Limon and San Jose went to London, to arrange for 
the bonding of the old debt and, at the same time to procure 
a new loan of at least £500,000. Mr. Keith has returned to 
San Jose but the true history of his mission, and its results, 
have not yet been made public. The newspapers of the re- 
public hint that he was successful on all points, and assert that 
work will soon be commenced on the gaps between the Eeven- 
tazon river and Cartago, and that within two years this division 
will be completed. 

With cheap transportation, from the centres of production 
to the Caribbean coast, the traffic of the country would soon 
reach its former prosperous status. Since the year 1875, the 
value of the imports of foreign wares and the export of domestic 
produce has shown a gradual and alarming decline. The im- 
port traffic for 1883, amounted to £650,000. The exports to 
about $3,000,000. The value of exports to the United States, 



REPUBLIC Of COSTA RICA. 285 

for the same period, was $800,000. The imports from the 
United States amounted to S700,000. Of this $1,500,000 traffic, 
New Orleans, and the Mississippi valley, notwithstanding the 
close proximity of the Crescent City to Port Limon, got only 
$124,000. This includes the fruit trade also, which, sorrowful 
to say, amounted to 4,162 bunches of bananas only. The 
domestic traffic of the republic will aggregate to about 
S14,000,000 annually. 

The manufacturing industry of Costa Rica is confined to a 
few unimportant branches. Certain articles, whose use or value 
are neither known nor appreciated outside the republic, are 
manufactured for the domestic demand only. Sugar and rum 
are produced to some extent, but are seldom exported. Indigo, 
of a superior class, is made on the plantations and exported 
from Punta Arenas to Europe and Sau Francisco, Cal. Quan- 
tities of palm leaf hats are made and sold in the country, while 

excellent tiles and burnt brick are manufactured at different 
localities to fill the house demand. i 

As far as the learned professions are concerned, in ratio to 
its population, Costa B-ica can certainly boast that as many 
of her sons are doctors, lawyers, mining and civil engineers, 
theologians, philosophers, and scientists of different kinds, as 
can be found in any of her greater and more fortunate sister 
nations. Indeed one of the common sayings of the people is : 
" Costa Biica would be a greater and wealthier country if more 
of her citizens were miners and planters, and fewer of them 
lawyers and theologians.'" 

Each of the five repy.b]ic8 has produced noted writers. Some 
of the latter have acquired local reputations as historical 
essayists and political writers, others as novelists, while the 
number who are famed for their political talents is legion. 

Costa Eica possesses her fair share of all these classes of 
writers, while not a few of her younger citizens have already 
displayed no small amountof artistic talent. Portait jjainters 
abound. In fact, each educated Costa Rican may be consid- 
ered as a fair writer and an amateur artist and musician. 

The capita] city possesses several well appointed colleges 
and academies. Schools for primary instruction are found in 
every village, while education is compulsory. 



286 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

The miuiug industry nevei^, even during' the Spanish regime, 
excited as much interest as in other portions of Central 
America. Shortly after the conquest the richest placer gold 
diggings were exhausted. The deposits of precious metals 
known to exist in the uncivilized regions have never been dis- 
turbed, on account of the irreconcilable hostility of the abo- 
rigines. Yet traditions hath it that anterior to the advent of 
the Spaniards the native caciques drew large supplies of gold 
dust from that almost terra incognita. 

Costa Rica is undoubtedly rich in precious and useful min- 
erals. Grold, silver, lead, copper, iron, nickle, zinc and tin 
mines and valuable quarries of marble have been discovered 
from time to time, but only gold, silver and copper deposits 
are worked to anj- extent. 

About eleven miles from Punta Arenas, near the old road 
to Esparza, is situated the famous gold mine of Trinidad. 
During the Spanish rule it furnished no small portion of Cen- 
tral America's annua) quota of bullion to the Spanish court. 
The ore is extracted from the side of a mountain. The princi- 
pal tunnel is 1200 feet above the level of the Pacific ocean. 
This mine is at present worked on a small scale by a native 
company. 

The Corro del Aguacate contains several well defined gold 
ledges. One mine in particular, called El Aguacate, has been 
worked for more than two hundred years; while another, the 
Sacra Familia, has been in operation for nearly as long a pe- 
riod. It has two separate ledges. One composed of galena 
and zinc blend, with silver and grey copper ores, which latter 
also yield a few ounces of silver to the ton. The other lode is 
gold quartz, very similar, in nature and quality, to that of 
Trinidad. 

The vast quantity of gold dust and golden idols, ornaments 
and thin plates of the same precious metal given by the na- 
tive caciques to the first explorers, and the numerous placer 
diggings that were afterwards found close to the ocean and 
worked by the avaricious Spaniards, induced the latter, in 
their delight at having at length hit upon such an " Eldorado," 
to bestow upon the Pacific slope the name since given to the 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 287 



whole province, or modern republic, viz., Costa Eica, or the 
rich coast. 

But long before the era of independence the Creoles and 
Spaniards discovered that the true source of Costa Rica's pros- 
perity lay not in its mines, but in its unrivaled agricultural 
possibilities. Before the star of Spanish domination sunk in 
a sea of slaughter never again to appear above the political 
horizon, this fact was known and recognized by the masters 
of the soil. It is true the unjust colonial policy pursued by 
Spain inflicted a lasting injury upon the agricultural industry 
of the province, yet its provisions were sometimes evaded or 
openly disregarded in the most temote localities, and many of 
the prohibited products were grown on Costa Eican soil. 

The declaration of independence and the subsequent sepa- 
ration of the colony from the mother country, give a new 
and vigorous impulse to agriculture. Capital that had long 
lain buried or hidden away was restored to circulation or in- 
vested in new indigo, cochineal, sugar and tobacco plUntations 
and thousands of acres of extremely fertile land, which had not 
been employed since the tirst days of thb conquest, again 
bloomed with valuable and i)roliflc harvests. For a long time 
cochineal production and indigo planting were the chief agri- 
cultural industries, and eventually sugar cane, tobacco and 
coffee plantations were established, and the new branches ot 
agriculture proved remarkably profitable. 

While to-day somewhat more than one-twentieth of the en- 
tire republic is under cultivation, but a comparatively small 
portion of this area is devoted to sugar culture. This indus- 
try, strange to say, has attracted but little attention. Only a 
common kind of sugar is manufactured, while the greater por- 
tion of the crude article is turned into rum. 

Indigo planting is a much more important branch of agri- 
culture. The plant is produced and the article manufactured 
on the spot. It is then despatched to Punta Arenas for ship- 
ment. It is very doubtful, however, if Costa Rica produces 
as much indigo as San Salvador. A.t one time, the little 
republic shipped more of this article than her diminutive 
northern neighbor. 



288 REPUBLIO OF COSTA RICA. 

The discovery of chemical extracts that eventually sup- 
planted cochineal as a valuable dye stuff, almost destroyed 
the production of this hitherto precious insect. Numerous 
plantations were abandoned and the nopal plants, no longer 
receiving proper care and attention, soon deteriorated and 
became as worthless as their sister species. Some few plan- 
tations are yet operated but it is very doubtful if this industry 
will ever be revived on a large scale. 

Tobacco is produced in all the different provinces. That of 
Alajuela enjoys the highest reputation for both quality and 
flavor. The sale of the leaf, and cigars and cigarettes, is yet 
monopolized by the government, but exportation of both the 
leaf and the manufactured article is free. 

Indian corn, being the staple food stuff of the natives, is 
cultivated more than any other produtition. It is very prob- 
able that more than a half of the area of land under cultiva- 
tion is devoted to the production of this invaluable cereal. 
The foot hiil sides and mountain slopes are cleared, and, 
just as the rainy season commences, the Indian ranchero 
plants his niilpa or corn patch. Small quantities ot wheat are 
produced in the temperate regions of the higher altitude, as 
well as barley and oats for horse provender. 

But the principal agricultural resource of the country is 
coffee. The provinces of Saw Jose and Cartago are the chief 
centres of this industry. The grand plateau of San Jose, in 
particular, is divided into hundr*'ds of flourishing plantations 
which tax the labor supply of the neighborhood to its full 
capacity to care for and harvest the yield of the trees. 

Mention has been made of the late gradual decline of this 
profitable industry which has been brought about by the con- 
tinued low price of the berry in foreign markets. This situa- 
tion cannot continue much longer. The price of coffee must 
go up, for the supply cannot fill the increasing demand. The 
reason for this assertion is based upon a true knowledge of 
the situation. The continued low price of the article, has had 
the effect, if not decreasing, at least of not increasing the area 
of production in all the coffee growing regions of the globe, 
while in Brazil, slavery agitation has already had a most per- 



REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 289 

verse effect upon this industry. If, then, the area of coffee 
cultivation is, to say the least, at a stand still, while the amount 
of consumption is constantly increasing, the increased demand 
will cause an increase in the price, and the coffee planting in- 
dustry will continue profitable until future over production 
will again glut the markets of the world. 

Even at the present low price of coffee that now rules, its 
production in Costa Eica would be very profitable if it were 
not for the scarcity of labor and the comparatively high tariff 
of wages that obtains. Costa Eican planters assert that if 
they can sell their produce, on the spot, at 6^ cents American 
money tbey will still realize a handsome profit. But the high 
rate of wages, and the maximum cost of transportation to the 
coast, renders it impossible for the Costa Eica coffee planters 
to compete with the slave produced coffee of Brazil. When 
the Interoceanic railroad is completed and direct and cheap 
transportation to the coast is afforded, the coffee planting 
industry of Costa Eica will again flourish even at the low price 
of the article that now obtains 

Within the past three years tropic fruit planting has become 
a most important industry in the Limon district. In 1884, 
120,000 commerciable bunches were exported to New York by 
the Atlas and Harrison line of steamers. The greater portion 
of the land along the line of the railroad, for a distance of fifty 
miles from Port Limon, for several hundred yards on either 
side of the track, is devoted to banana cultivation. The fruit 
attains a size and excellence equal to the famous bananas of 
the Isthmus of Panama, of the Island of Jamaica and even of 
the Bluefields river in Il^icaragua. 

One ISTew York house has hitherto almost monopolized the 
fruit traffic of Limon for the past two years. Eecent events 
have destroyed this monopoly, so in the future the steamers of 
the Fish and Miller lines will be allowed to freight with bananas 
at Limon for New Orleans. In this case the steamers on the 
route will not be able to handle the trade, so larger vessels will 
soon be required. If the tropic fruit traffic of Limon should 
once be directed to the Crescent City, it will never again seek 
another channel, for experience has taught the banana pro- 



290 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

ducers that the great seaport of the south, the gateway of the 
Mississippi valley, is destined in the very near future to become 
the principal tropic fruit emporium in the world. 

But the American friends of Costa Rica have lately begun 
to conceive doubts of the future of the fruit planting industry in 
the Limon district. About a year and a half ago government 
decreed the entire stretch of country between Limon and Carillo 
a free zone. This wise measure soon produced beneficial effects. 
A most vigorous imimlse was given to the fruit planting in- 
dustry, and many natives invested money in establishing banana 
walks at different points along the railroad line. In the month 
of August, however, the government under the pretence that 
no apparent increase in the size of the village of Limon, or 
augmentation of its traffic, was visible, rescinded the decree 
which had made the district a free zone, the Customhouse was 
removed again to Limon and all the former vexations and 
onerous custom restrictions have been re-established. 

Parties residing in the Limon district have written to friends 
in the Crescent Citj', declaring that the abolition of the free 
zone privileges will work incalcuable injury to the fruit planting 
interests. While this recent government action will certainly 
not prove in any way beneficial to this nascent industry, it 
cannot be more injurious than the former monopoly of the en- 
tire fruit traffic by one single house. The vessels engaged in 
the trade could not possibly meet its requirements, thus thou- 
sands of marketable bunches of bananas rotted on the trees 
monthly, while the ]S"ew Orleans steamers, the Heredia and the 
Lucy P. Miller, were compelled to stop at Bluefields and Corn 
Islands to pick up scanty cargoes of fruit. 

As far as the banana traffic is concerned, as long as a mar- 
ket for the fruit is obtained a sufficient quantity will always be 
produced to fill the demand, but if the planters are compelled 
to sell their produce to one particular firm and are not allowed 
to encourage competing purchasers, bur little reasonable hopes 
can be entertained of the future development of the Costa Rican 
tropic fruit i3lanting industry. All Messrs. C. A. Fish & Co., 
can ask or should desire is to be allowed to compete with ISTew 
York houses for this valuable trade. If this privilege is 



KEPUBLIC OF COSTA EICA. 291 

accorded this New Orleans firm the greater part of the traffic 
will be diverted to the Crescent City. 

The rubber trade, during the past two decades has gradually 
assumed increased importance. The vast forests of the eastern 
sloj)e contain innumerable rubber trees whose sap, when con- 
gealed, furnishes the crude substance which is converted into 
so many manufactured articles, in this and other civilized 
countries. If the same vaudalic system of exhausting the trees 
and killing them at one operation that is persued in other por- 
tions of Central America, is also followed by the native rubber 
collectors of Costa Rica, the supply in the latter country far 
exceeds that remaining in the northern republics, while the 
savage Indians jealously guard their trees and furnish but 
enough rubber to serve as a medium of barter for the few for- 
eign articles they covet or require. 

Quite a traffic in hides and skins is carried on by the mer- 
chants of either coast with the interior, who ship them to 
Europe, San Francisco and ISTew York. 

The Costa Eican forests contain a great number of valuable 
timber trees and dye woods, such as mahogany, cedar, rose- 
wood, sandal wood, ebony, vera, zapdte, amarillo, fustic, Brazil 
and oak. The wood-cutting industry languishes on the western 
slope but since the cessation of British protection, agression, 
or interference, or whatever it may be styled, on the Mosquito 
coast, it has almost died out in that locality. But the increased 
demand for dye woods and furniture timber in the markets of 
this countr}' and Europe, will certainly bring about its speedy 
revival. If the forests of British Honduras, Guatemala and 
Spanish Honduras, are partially denuded of accessible trees, 
the Mosquito coast, from Cape Gracias south and east to Boca 
del Toro, is almost virgin territory, has scarcely re-echoed the 
sound of the woodman's axe. 

Along the Caribbean coast of Costa Eica, in particular, this 
situation obtains. The uncivilized Indians lurk in the forests 
or hide in the cane jungles that fringe the river banks, and 
sturdily battle with all intruders. But their numbers are 
gradually decreasing. TheJr interminable tribal quarrels and 
thei,r ferocious system of warfare is gradually bringing about 



292 REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA. 

their extinctiou. It will not be long before the Costa Rican 
Government will be compelled to either subdue or exterminate 
them, for, cruel as it may seem to make such an assertion, 
their territory is too valuable, and the vast forest and mineral 
resources it contains are so necessary to the growing require- 
ments of commerce that they cannot much longer be permitted 
to retain possession of it. As they live like beasts of prey 
and are as fierce and un tameable, they will be compelled to 
bow to inevitable destiny and make way for a more civilized 
race of people. Their fate will furnish but yet another in- * 
stance of that terrible and inexorable law of nature : " the 
unproducers must give way to the producers," 

It is impossible to estimate the advantages that will accrue 
to the little republic when this great tract of fertile and valu- 
able territory is opened to immigration and settlement. The 
few travelers who have penetrated any distance into this 
wilderness, and have had the fortune to return, have told the 
most marvelous tales of its fertility and productiveness They 
tell of the remains of great aboriginal capitals, whose ruins 
strew many square miles of land and, above all, they report 
the existence of valuable placer deposits, as rich as those found 
and worked by the Spaniards, during the era of the conquest. 

But serious obstacles seems to militate against the further 
development of the resources of Costa Rica ; the scarcity of 
the labor supply, the increasing demand for it and the conse- 
quently high tariff of wages that obtain throughout there- 
public. Before the Panama canal drained the neighboring 
countries, and even Jamaica, Santo Domingo and Island of 
Trinidad, of their surplus labor, those localities furnished a 
constant supply of hands who willingly worked for the wages 
that were then usual. Bur the blacks of the West Indian 
islands will not labor on Central American coffee, indigo or 
fruit plantations for from $18 to S25 per month, when they 
can procure steady work, for a long period, at from $1 20 to 
$2 00 per day. As the isthmus not only occupies a vast num- 
ber of laborers, but also eonsumes many hundreds of them 
annually, the supply will never equal the demand in Costa 
Rica, until the canal enterprise is finished. Thus, until that 



KEPUBLIC OF COSTA EICA. 293 

happy period arrives, the labor question will coutiuue to be 
the most serious problem presented to the statesmen and agri- 
culturists of the little republic. 

The actual Presi'deut of Costa Eica, General Prospero Fer- 
nandez, is a most liberal minded and enlightened statesman. 
He is connected, by marriage, with the family of the late 
President Guadia, and upon the latter's demise succeeded to 
his office. General Fernandez is active and industrious. He 
is also remarkably well disposed towards foreigners. His 
immigration laws are extremely liberal, while he is most 
anxious to attract American and European settlers to Costa 
Rica. He is popular with the masses and is easy of access to 
all who wish to see him on business. Under his vigorous rule 
his country has made rapid strides forward in the path of 
prosperity, and could he but satisfactorily solve the vexed 
labor problem that so materially interferes with the develop- 
ment of the natural resources of Costa Rica, it would not be 
long before he would realize his greatest ambition, his dearest 
aspiration, which is the speedy elevation of his beloved little 
republic to the highest pitch of internal prosperity and poli- 
tical consideration abroad. 



m mm m ran mi 

STEAMSHIP LINE. 

):o:( ^ 

No. 3S Soiitli Peters Street^ 



THE STEAMSHIP 



-«ifli»i«df ^yL' \m/ ^ ^a^r' 9 "^^L" W '«§»' ^JL -g&r -jj.- 



3 

Sails about the 5tli of each month for Bhiefields, 

Grey town, Liinon and Colon ; calling at 

Corn Island on return trip. 

THE STEAMSHIP 

llll imIm B_&anmJ ee^zis ^^ fl uiiiiiiiB H I I mJ^ ff jAiM la 

Sails every twentj' days for Blueiields and Limon. 



First-class Passenger Accommodations at Low Rates 

Oonsignments of Tropical Products Solicited . 



CHAS. SMITH. THOS. SMITH. J. B. SINNOTT. 

SMITH BROTHERS & CO., 



— -y — 

IMPORTADORES DE CAFE, 

NOS. 102, 104 Y 106 CALLE DE POYDRAS 
Mueva Orleans, La., E. U. de A. 



SMITH HERMANOS T CIA., 

Cordoba, Mexico. Yzabal, Guatemala. 



CHAS. SMITH. THOS. SMITH. J. B. SINNOTT. 

SMITH BROTHERS & CO., 



Nos. 102, 104 and 106 Foydras Street, 

NEW ORLEANS, LA. 

o 



Cordoba, Mexico. Yzabal, Guatemala. 






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Tiene la circulacion mas grande en el Sud y Sud Oeste de los 

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Nos. 79, 81, 83, 85, 87 7 89 CALLE DE COMMON, 

7 Nos. 11 7 13 CALLE LE MAGAZINE, 

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Tiene un grande y selecto surtido de especialidades adap 
tadas a los pedidos del comercio de Centro-America, consisti- 
endo eii breves palabras, de : 

G:eNEROS. 

Estampados, Cuadros de varies Colores, Eayados de Colores, 
Sobrecamas, Algodones, Hilados, Mantas Blancas 
y Oscuras, Tejidos para Corset, Silecias, Algo- 
dones Oscuros "Lona," y Franellas. 



VARIEDAD DE NOVEDADES. 

Papeleria, Perfumeria, Jabones de Toilet, P^ines, Boquillas, 

Cuchilleria, Botones, Alfileres, Agujas, Joyeria, Cepillos, 

Efectos para la Pesca, Anzuelos, Ligas, Dedales, 

Agujas para Crochet, Portamonedas para Senoras, 

Carteras, Espejos, Collares, Lazos para 

Zapatos, Ciutas 6 Cintillas, de 

Alpaca y de Hiladillo. 



ROPA INTERIOE PAEA SENOEAS T CABALLEEOS. 

Camisas, Camisetas, Chamarras, Calcetiues, Calzoncillos 
de Algodon, Eopones, Corbatas, Cuellos, Punos, Lazos para 
Senoras, y Cuellos de Lino, Tirantes, Medias, Guantes, Cor- 
sets, Panuelos, Sombrillas y Paragiias, Abanicos, Lazos Bor- 
dados y Efectos para Vestidos de Senoras, Cencillos para Ye- 
rano, de Seda, Satin y Terciopelo. 

Ademas, una variedad de Lino de Casa, todos los cuales 
serdn vendidos ^ los precios mas bajos. 

Los Comerciantes que visiten a Nueva Orleans, son cordial- 
mente invitados d que visiten 6 inspecten esta grande y 
variada coleccion. Se solicita correspondencia. 

JOHE^ P. RBCHARDSON. 






CE 





STEAMSHIP LINE. 

):o:( 



ii ^k isP^GS.'Ear ^Jiiu tfnei 



No. 3S South Peters Street, 



THE STEAMSHIP 



Lucy P. Miller, 

Sails about the 5th of each month for Bluefields, 

Greytown, Limon and Colon ; calling at 

Corn Island on return trip. 

THE STEAMSHIP 

jidL JiLi ..cx/ JBj jLD -L -r\- y 

Sails every twenty days for Bluefields and Limon. 



First-class Passenger Accommodations at Low Rates 

OonsignmentB of Tropical Products Solicited. 



ROBT. H. CHAFFE. JOHN C. CHAFFE. 

R. H. Chaffe & Bro., 

ESPECIEROS FOR MSYOR 

Y COMEECIANTES EN 

Vinos, Licores, Tabaco y Cigarros, 

Nos. 7 y 9 Calle de Peters y 36 a 44 Calle de Common, 



Apartado No. 329 



ROBT. H. CHAFFE. JOHN C. CHAFFE. 

R. H. CHAFFE & BRO., 

WHOLESALE GR0CER8, 

AND DEALERS IN 

Wines, Liquors, Tobacco and Cigars, 

Nos. 7 and 9 Peters and 36 to 44 Common Sts,, 



p. O. Box 329. 





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El gran camino contiimo para Pasajeros y 
desde Kueva Orleans hasta todos los 
puntos Il^orte, Este y Oeste. 



Elete 



El gran Ferrocarril Jackson es construido con Uielas de 
Acero ! Medida Corriente ! Equipos Mejorados ! Garnino soli- 
damente construido, y Bapidez Aumentada ! La mas igual^ la 
mas segura j la mas agradable linea de Nueva Orleans d Bos- 
ton, Nueva York, Filadelfia, Baltimore, Washington, Buffalo, 
Chicago, San Luis, Cincinnati, j todas las ciudades del Norte 
J del Este. 

Los carros salones, palaciales, para dormir, de Pullman 
salen diariamente de N'ueva Orleans para Cairo, Chicago, Cin- 
cinnati, San Luis, Memphis, Kansas City y Louisville, sin cam- 
bio; y cambian solamente una vez para las ciudades del Este. 

Frenos Atmosfericos ! Plataformas de Miller! y todas las 
ultimas mejoras para la seguridad y la conveniencia de los 
pasajeros. 

Llega a Chicago 12 horas, y a San Luis 8 horas mas pron- 
to que cualquiera otra linea, y con gran rapidez d las otras 
principales ciudades. 

Precios de pasaje siempre tan bajos como los de otras 
lineas que sou inferiores. 

Oficina para Boletas de Pasaje : Pickwick Club Build- 
ing, cor. Canal and Carondelet, Nueva Orleans, La. 

Comprando sus boletas de pasaje por via de la Gran 
EuTA Jackson, los viajeros estan seguros de ganar tiempo 
y distancia. 



L I wm, I T, jErrm, 



J, W, COLEM, 



Agent* General de Pasajeros, 

A Chicago. 



General Superintendent, Ass't Agente General de Pasajeros, 
A Chicago. A Nueva Orleans. 



SCHMIDT & ZIEGLEB, 

EstaT>lisliecl 184S. 

Nos. 49, 51, 53 and 55 South Peters Street, 

NETflT ORLEANS, LA., 

AND RECEIVERS OF 

Coffee, Sugar, Molasses and Rice. 



Also agents for Otard Dupuy & Co., Seignouret Freres, G. H. 
Mumm & Co., Marie Brizard, and Eoger. 

And importers of E. & J. Burke, Bass & AUsopps' Ale and 
Guiness' Stout, Old Irish and Scotch Whisky, Edouard Pernod Ab- 
sinthe and Kirsch. 

Our stock of Canned Goods and Fancy Groceries, being the most 
complete in the South, we are prepared to sell at low figures. Send 
us a trial order and judge for yourself. 



Estaljlecido en 184S. 



Nos. 49, 51, 53 y 55 Calle de South Peters, 

WUEVA ORIiEAi^'S. 

1SPECIEB©S P@R HAY0B, 

T KECIBIDORES DE 

CAFE, AZUGAR, MELASE y AROZ. 



AGENTES Y IMPORTADOEES TAMBIEN DE 

Otard, Dupuy & Co., Seignouret Freres, Gr. H. Mumm & Co., 

Marie JBrizard, y Eogers. 

E. & J. Burke, Bass & Allsopps' Ale and Guiness Stout, Old 

Irish and Scotch Whisky, Edouard Pernod 

Absinthe and Kirsch. 



NTTESTRO SUBTIDO DE 

Conservas Alimenticias y Abarrotes Finos. 

es el mas complete del Sur. Estamos preparados a vender a los pre- 
cios mas bajos. Mandesenos ordenes de prueba y sirvanse juzgar 
por Vdes mismos. 



CHAS. SMITH. THOS. SMITH. J. B. SINNOTT. 

SMITH BROTHERS & CO., 




; mmmi [or lYiajor 

— IT — 

IMPORTADORES DE CAFE, 

NOS. 102, 104 y 106 CALLE DE POYDRAS, 
Nueva Orleans, La., E. U. de A. 



SMITH HERMANOS T CIA., 

Cordoba, Mexico. Tzabal, Gruatemala. 



CHAS. SMITH. THOS. SMITH. J. B. SINNOTT. 

SMITH BROTHERS & CO , 

Nos. 102, 104 and 106 Poydras Street, 

NEW ORLEANS, LA. 

o 

tmith Hcrmano^ ti ©ia., 

Cordoba, Mexico. Yzabal, Guatemala 



H. DUDLET COLEMAN, 

Sspa de las dalles de Uapolia j Srato, j No. 9 Calle FerdidO: 



Maquinas de Vapor, Maquinas para acerrar Maderas, 

Oalderas, Molinos para Maiz, 

Despepitadores de Algodon, 

Horuilias 6 Ceniceros i^ara Maquinas, 
Poleas, Prensas para Algodon. 




Fachadas de hierro para Edificios, Oolumnas de hierro, 



Forjaduras para Prisoues, 



y Sercas de hierro. 



Pid4nSenos Oirculares Ilustradas y Precios. 



La casa de Maquinarias y Calderas que tiene el mas grande 
surtido en el Sur! 



Trabajos de Oalderas y Obras de hierro colauo de todas 
descripciones. 

Hdgase una prueba de nuestros efectos. 
H. DUDLEY COLEMAN, 

Fiindicion, Esquina de las Galles de Magnolia y Erato. 

Almacen y Oficina, l^o. 9, Calle Perdido, 
IVueva Orleans, La-^ E. XJ. cle j\. . 



B.EEMINGTON & SONS, 

MANUFACTUEERS OF 

WILITARY, SPORTING, HUNTING and TARGET 



SHOT GUNS AND PISTOLS, 

ALSO, 

Cartridges, Primers, Eullets, Shot, Shells, 

LOADING IMPLEMENTS, RIFLE CANES, 

AND 



K^Els^IlsrOTOIN" 



MANUFACTURERS OF 

Agricultural Implements, Patent Clipper Steel and 

Carbon Plows, Cultivators, Cast Stojel 

Shovels, Porks, Hoes, Garden 

Rakes, Planters' Handled 

Hoes, Mowers. 

Wheel Horse Rakes and Hslj Tedders, Iron Bridges, 

The Remington Pire Engine, operated by 

hand or horse power. Hose Carts, 

Ladder Trucks, etc., etc. 

The Universal Fibre Decorticator 

To supersede hand labor on Jute, Ramie, Sisal, Hemp, and 
all fibrous plants. 

IMCaxnifactoiry and Offices : 

ILION, HERKIMER COUNTY, NEW YORK, U. S. A. 



77, 79 y 81 Galle de Camp, Nueva Orleans, E. U, A., 

Ferreteria y Quinoalleria, 

SIN SUPERIOR en los ESTADOS UNIDOS ! 

HEREAMIENTAS SUPERIORES DE 




!^^^5j2Si^fcgg^g6^te ^j^^ ^Sa^iB7y 



Agriciiltura, Caipinteria, Herreria, Albanileria, Hojalateria, 

Toneleria, etc. 

Pistolas, Carabiuas, Cartiichos de Metal y Muaiciones, Hornillas y 

Estufas de Cocina. Alambres, lisos y con pugas, para 

Cerciidos, Eomanasj Pinturas, etc. 

Caidado esyjeciai al Empaque para Exportacion. 
Correspondencia en Espanol. 



T. J. WOODWAED. PEARL WIGHT. CHAS. W. MACKTK. 

"Woodisrard^ ISTiglit & Co., 

COMMISSION AND FOUWAEDING MEHCHANTS, 
40 and 42 Canal Street, New Orleans, La. 

Also Agents in Mfiv Orleans for 

Boston Marine Insurance Co.; Mexican Central Railway Co. (limited), Boston, Mass.; 
The "E. D. Albro Co." Cincinnati, 0.; Averill's Celebreted Mixed Paints; Bridgewater 
Yellow Metal Sheathing and Nails : Portland Cotton Sail Duck ; American Ship "Wind- 
lass Company's Steam Power Capstau.s ; Empire Chain Works Coil, Cable and Mill Chain; 
The Jno. A. Robeling'a Sons Co.'s Steel wire Hoisting Rope and Standing Wire Rigging; 
Stone's Ship's Pamps and Steerers; CarroUton (Mich.) Oar Factory; Bagnall & Loud's 
Blocks, all kinds and sizes; Leonard & Ellis' Valvoline Cylinder and Machine Oils; 
Downer's 300° Fire Test Mineral Sperm aTid other Oils ; Revere Rubber Co.; Kewbury- 
port Iron Foundry and Machine Works ; Belden & Reinhard, Oil Manufacturers; Simp- 
son's Diamond Creamery Butter, in 5 and 10 lb. cans; Cushing Process Whi.sky. 

J-. :Fi^iEi3i_.A.isriDE:E?. Sc oo., 
COMMISSION MERCHANTS, 

p. O. Box 2616. NEW ORLEANS, LA. 

E. A. BRANDAO. J- H. GINTZ. 

E. A.. BK/A-lsriD A.O Sc CO., 



Book and Job Printers, 

Blank Book Manufacturers, 

34 Magazine Street, New Orleans, La. 

Poiitheru Agents for Ullman & Philpott Printing Inks. 



I^M. WESTON, J. D. LACEY, A. G. HODENPYLE, 

President. Vice President. Sec'y and Treas. 



7 

CUTTERS AND IMPORTERS OF 

Mahogamy, Spamigh Cedar, 

AND OTHER 

TROPIC WOODS 

Grand Rapids, Mich.. 

36 Carondelet St., New Orleans, La. 



I. M. WESTON, J. D. LACEY, A. G. HODENPYLE, 

Presideute. Vice Presidente. Secretario y Teso. 

H:o]sriDUK.jLS 
TIMBER COMPANY, 

COKTADOEES E IMPORT ADOBES DE 

CAOBA, OBDEO ESPANOL, Y OTRAS MADERAS DE 
LOS TROPICOS, 

NO. 2 CALLE MONROE, 

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. 

No. 36 Calle Carondelet, New Orleans. La., E. U. de A. 



T li E 



New Orleans and Belize 

STEAHSMIP LIME. 



steamship ^''€1T^ OW m^E,£>^8,^^ 

(914 Tons.) C. W. READ, Master. 



(^531 Tons.) C. W. CLAEK, Master. 

Steamship ^^Mlanche Memdersom^'^^ 

(578 Tons.) L. PETERSON^, Master. 

Calling at Belize in British Honduras, Livingston in Guate- 
mala, and Puerto Oortez in Spanish Honduras. Under con- 
tract to carry the Eoyal English Mails; also carrying the 
United States, Guatf^nnala and Spanish Honduras Mails ; and 
having fine accommodations for passengers to Central Amer- 
ica and Jamaica. 

For freight or passage apply at the office of 

MAOHUCA BEOTHEBS, Managers, 

I-To. 129 Bscatur 3t., ISTew Orleans. 



agents op^ the line : 
John Hunter, Anderson & Owen, W. C. Mirrielees, 
Belize. Livingston. Puerto Cortes. 



CONNECTING LINES: 

In I^ew York — Office of Morgan Steamship Line, Pier 36, 

]5rorth River, and office of Cromwell Steamship Line, 86 

West Street. 
In Livingston, Gruatemala — Steamer Georgia Muncy, for Isa- 

bal, Panzos and G-ulf of Dulce. 
In Puerto Cortes, Spanish Honduras — Interoceanic Railway, 

for San Pedro Sula and Interior. 



I. L. IL^^OInTS & CO., 

Almacenistas y Droguistas por Mayor e Im porta dores, 

Manufactureros Quimicos y 

IsTegociantes en Instrumentos de Oirugia, 

Nos. 42 y 44 Oalle de Oamp y 109, 111, 113, 115 y 117 Oalle 
de Gravier esquiua a Camp, 

FEW OELEANS, LA., E. U. de A. 

o 

Propietarios de: las Pildoras de "Brodies" para el Higado. Cordial Astringente 
de "Brodies" para la Diarrea. Elixir "Looocks" para la Tos. Linimento Arnica de 
"Abrams." Ungiieiito "Abvams" para el Sarpullido y Enfermedades Cutaneas. Ex- 
seucia "Lyons" de Gengibre de Jamaica. TGnico de "Abrams" para Calenturas y los 
Frios. Aiaargos Corroborantes de "Garry Owen." 

"Wholesale Dmggists, Importers and Manufacturing Chemists 

AND DEALERS IN SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS, 
42 and 44 Camp, and 109, 111, 113, 115 and 117 Gravier St., 

(CORI^EIl OF CAMP STEEET,) 

N E W O RLE A N S . L A . 

Proprietors — Brodie's Liver Pills. Brodie's Astringent Cordial for Diarrhoea, etc. 
Locock's Cough Elixir. Abram's Arnica Liniment. Abram's Tetter and Ringworm 
Ointment. Lyon's Essence Jamaica Ginger. "Abram's" Chill and Fever Tonic. "Gar- 
ry Owen" Strengthening Bitters. 



The leading paper of !S"ew Orleans and of tho South, equal to any in circulation and 
second to none in merit, is THE NEW ORLEANS DAILY PICAYUNE, published by 
Nicholson & Co. This great daily newspaper, established nearly fifty years ago, by 
practical enterprising men, as a step forward in American journalism at the South, has 
grown with the growth of the city and is a power in the land . 

'--STHMJ ^WJEEM:L"5r ]P X C A Y U I>J 13 . 
THE WEEKLY PICAYUNE, made up of the most important matter that appears 
in the daily, with an original synopsis of the news of the week, is intended for country 
circulation. Its condensed news, literature features, correspondence, devotion to agri- 
cultural interests, makes it the most desirable home ]>aper to be found — certainly in the 
South — for tbe low price of one dollar and fifty cents per year. The Weekly Picayune, 
fifty-two papers in a year, is a library of information and pleasant reading, and a history 
of the events of each week. It should be found in every Southern home. 

Althou^ included in ihe daily subscription, THE NEW ORLEANS SUNDAY 
PICAYUNE has special featirres, and may be received separately by subscribers when 
desired. It is usually a mammoth paper of sixteen papers, and in addition to the full 
telegraphic, home, foreign and local news reports. The Sunday Picayune contains regu- 
lar Paris and New York correspondence, with the best information on fashions, house- 
hold matters, science, the drama, society news and gossip in New Orleans and out. of 
town, and choice selections of poetry, stories and miscellaneous matter, and original con- 
tributions from "Catherine Cole,"' Jenny June, MoUie E.Moore, J. H. Haynie, "Vi- 
dette,'' and many others- The Sunday Picayune is deservedly a popular favorite with 



DAILY. 
(8 to 14 pp, 7 papers a week) 

Twelvemonths |12 00 

Six months 6 00 

Three months 3 00 



WEEKLY. 
(16 pp.) 

Twelve months. $1 50 

Six months 75 

Three months 50 



SUNDAY PICAYUNE. 
(By mail, 16 pp.) 

Twelve months $2 00 

Six months 1 00 



EOBT. H. CHAFFE. JOHN C. CHAFFE. 

R H. Chaffe & Bro.. 

ESPECIEROS FOR MAYOR 

Y COMEECIANTES EN 

Vinos, Licores, Tabaco y Cigarros, 

Kos. 7 y 9 Callb db Peters y 36 4 44 Calle de Common, 



Apartado No. 329. 



EOBT. H. CHAFFE. JOHN C. CHAFFE. 

R. H. CHAFFE & BRO., 

WHOLESALE GROCERS, 

AND DEALERS IN 

Wines, Liquors, Tobacco and Cigars, 

Nos. 7 and 9 Peters and 36 to 44 Common Sts., 



p. O. Box 329. 



Miller & Henderson's 

—LINE OF— 

OCEAN STEAMSHIPS, 

COMPRISING STEAMERS 

Capt. ]^ILLER<, 

LIZZIE :HE]XDER.SO]V, 
S. J. COOHI^.^]V, 

Blanclie Hend-erson, 

RUNNING FROM 

NEW ORLEANS 

—TO- 
BAY ISLANDS, HONDURAS, TAMPA, 

KEY WEST, JAMAICA, 

— AND— 

CENTRAL AMERICAN PORTS. 

Also ports contiguous to the Grulf of Mexico. 



Steamers for sale or charter. 

R. B. POST & SON, ^ 

> Agents, 
C. A. FISH & CO., ) 

New Orleans, La. 



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El gran camino coiitinuo para Pasajeros y Elete 

desde IS'ueva Orleans liasta todos los 
puiitos I^orte, Este y Oeste. 

El gran Ferrocarril Jackson es coirstrnido (Jon Uielas de 
Acero I Medida Gorriente ! Uquipos Mejorados ! Oamiiio soli- 
dameDte construido, y Eapidez Aumentada I La mas igual, la 
mas segnra y la mas ngradable linea de jSTueva Orleans a Bos- 
ton, Niieva York, Piladeliia, Baltimore, Washington, Buffalo, 
Chicago, San Luis, Cincinnati, y todas las ciudades del IsTortc 
y del Este. 

Los carros salones, palaciales, para dorinir, de Pullman 
salen diariaraente de J^ueva Orleans para Cairo, Chicago, Cin- 
cinnati, San Luis, Memphis, Kansas City y Louisville, sin cam- 
bio; y cambian solameute una vez para las ciudades del Este. 

Frenos Atmosfericos ! Plataformas de Miller! y todas las 
ultira;ss mejoras para la seguridad y la conveniencia de los 
pasajeros. 

Llega 4 Chicago 12 horas, y a Sau Luis 8 horas mas pron- 
to que cualquiera otra linea, y con gran rapidez a ias otras 
principales ciudades. 

Precios de pasaje siempre tan bajos eomo ios de otras 
liueas que ^on inferiores. 

Oficiua para Boletas de Pasaje: Pickwick Club Build- 
iNa, cor. Canal and Carondelet, Nueva Orleans, La. 

Oomprando sus boletas de })asaje por via de la G-ran 
RuTA Jackson, los viajeros estan seguros de ganar tiempo 
y distaucia. 



h. I mm 



Agente deneral de Pasajeros, 

A Chicago. 



1 1, JEFFESV 



J, W, COLS 



General Superintendent, Ass't Agente General de Pasajeros, 
A Chicago. A Nueva Orleans. 



MAY 







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•JLeanSg JE. 17. cle ^V. 



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Hou. Eandall ].. (iiiiSON (Seimdoi- de los E. U.), Pn^sidcute. 

Oliciuas, " Salim Tulane," CaJ'". Diyades eiitie Ctuiimon y Canal, 

Wm. Preston Johnston, Pre§id^|;t#-de Ja Uuiversidad. 
AVm. F. Mellon, Esq., Dean del Dei>aitaiuentn de Leyes. 
T. Ci. EiCHARDsoN, ]\I, I)., Deaif del Colegio' de Mediciiui. 

l*"!] Ciierpo compuesto de teiuta Pi-ofesores expeitos en todos lus DepaitameDttis ili- 
' -. Instiuccidn. 

Ciirsos conipletos en Lenguas, Literatni a v Qien^na:; La instnucion eii Latin, Giiei;o. 
Mate.mfitica.s, Leuoua Tngleea. y LitcratUTa>e.s cieniTiiV*an'u'nt<^ peifeita. Lenuna.s ilo- 
deruas con ej^pecialidad, Finances, Aleman, Espanol.- e Italiauu. son consideradas en la 
Literatura y eonio niadre de lenguas ; con hospedage en bueiins himiliLis. que hablau I'stas 
lenguas correctanieute. , "" ' ;-iv -,"'5: • .V- 

-Bw el Dcpaytamcnto de Fisica, Mccanica y Qiniiiim-^^v O,'' : ' vi especial atencion diiecta 
a la relacion de estas rauiifteacioneR de la Cki^iia-iiivbisi i i ir este pais. La Mi'Kiuiua 
de Vapoi', el' Telegrafo, el Tel6fono, la Luz Ei<ifetiieffy Fotiigrafia: la teoiia y uso del 
Saccliaioraetio en Detei'minacion de Azueares, leciben tanibien atejicinn. Las niateiias 
sou de lleno, ilustradas por experimentos v corao iirritlca, los estudiaiites misuu)s vciiilen 
los experiiuentps. tJn ciirso d« Partida DoTjle, Tenesluiia de.Libi-os v Caligrafia, estan 
adoptailos. . "s^ 

La Altn FjScuela—'Ew la Ensefianza Preparatoria d-^' DepnVtfiiiieuto Colecial, recibeu 
los estndian'tes h la edad de 12 anos : Latin, tiiiego, x{€w;\ :£lf mental y Qu'iiuiea: Alf- 
nian. Fiances, E.spaSol, Italiano y Dibujo que es com]jtj"u<]i<i<>' couio una adicion ;i estas 
niateria,s, necesario para una buena educacion in^'sa, -,»'"' Ur ■' 

Vna Escuela de Manual Ujercicioit — Est;l OTgnuizada pni«a la iustruccion en talleres d" 
ti-abajos; bajo los principios de las Artes Mecildi&as. ,iEjy?v.Sls;i;-uela est:"' bajo la diree- 
ciou del Profesoi' J. M. Oixiway, perteneciente alSInf!tituTo,,Kk'"t'eologia, de lioston, Mass. 

X>(7/(y'o— TJn profesov de Dibujo se lia agregado a )a FaCwltad, y los estudiautes tienen 
iao]>oitunidaiLde instmirse en este Arte de'tanta utilidad, ," 

El Dcpartaniento de Jfedic/jirt— En este .sfio, que forma eT ciucuenta y dos do estableci- 
do este Departamento, tenemos nueve Profesores empleadQS'. Los e'studiantes usan el 
. gvan Hospitai,de Caridad como escuela de prslt a pain su iristruccion. 

< WM. O. KOGEIW, ScfaSfstaii^delaUniversidad, 




